Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
irradiation, high pressure processing, pulsed electric fi eld, and ultra violet and pulsed
light radiations. The processing methods of the traditional techniques and their
effects on microbiological and sensory qualities have been detailed in publications,
such as ICMSF (
2005
) and Feiner (
2006
). This chapter summarizes the processing
and effects of irradiation and high pressure processing, the two most researched and
widely used minimally processing techniques, on the physical, chemical, sensory,
and microbiological qualities of meat and seafood products.
11.2
Irradiation
Food irradiation is a non-thermal processing technology that employs electromag-
netic radiation to treat food in order to achieve targeted benefi ts. There are three
common types of ionizing radiation that are used on food: gamma rays, x-rays, and
electron beam. Gamma rays are emitted from radio-isotopes such as Cobalt-60
and cesium-137. Electron beams are produced by a particle accelerator such as a
linear accelerator or Van de Graaff accelerator. X-rays are produced by bombard-
ment of a metal plate with the high power electron beam. Each type of ionizing
irradiation has its own advantages and disadvantages (Fan
2012
).
11.2.1
Meat and Meat Products
11.2.1.1
Sensory Quality
There were many studies on the effect of irradiation on sensory property of ground
beef. Luchsinger et al. (
1997
) demonstrated that irradiation (2.0 and 3.5 kGy) of
frozen ground beef had minimal effect on fl avor, texture, or aroma of frozen, raw,
and precooked ground beef patties when evaluated by a trained panel. Murano et al.
(
1998
) found that packaging type and storage affected sensory attributes of irradi-
ated ground beef, but no undesirable change was caused by low dose (up to 2 kGy)
irradiation. Ground beef patties irradiated under vacuum and stored in air were
more tender than the non-irradiated samples. Wheeler et al. (
1999
) found that irradi-
ated (3 and 4.5 kGy) ground beef was rated by a trained panel as having less beef
fl avor and aroma and more off-fl avor. However, the consumer panel found that pat-
ties irradiated at 4.5 kGy had lower taste scores than the non-irradiated patties.
Lopez-Gonzalez et al. (
2000
) found that irradiated (2 kGy) fresh ground beef
had less beef/brothy fl avor than the non-irradiated ones when evaluated by a trained
panel. There were no differences in other sensory attributes between irradiated and
non-irradiated samples. Giroux et al. (
2001
) found no signifi cant difference in odor
and taste between irradiated (up to 4 kGy) and non-irradiated ground beef patties
during 7 days of post-irradiation storage at 4 °C. Lorenzen and Heymann (
2003
)
found that irradiation (1.0 kGy) of frozen ground patties had little effect on overall
