Binding and Storage Properties of Structured Beef Steaks Produced with the algin/calcium/adipic Acid Gel

Structured meat technology has contributed to the vast array of meat products offered to the consumer. Structured meat products utilize the less valuable cuts of a carcass to create a consumer-ready product resembling fresh, intact muscle cuts. The binding of meat pieces is of structured products an essential requirement Traditionally, adhesion between meat pieces was accomplished through heat-induced bonding formed by muscle or nonmuscle proteins, regardless of the product and/or meat particle size preparation. Although traditional structured meat products have adequate binding properties in the cooked state, the binding mechanism employed does not bind fresh, uncooked meat pieces. This limitation has restricted retail marketing of structured meat products to either the frozen or precooked state. Alginates have been widely used as stabilizers in food systems and modifiers in the rheology of food sols. One of alginates\u27 unique properties, gelation, has led to numerous applications in meat products. The binding system recently developed and patented by Schmidt and Means utilizes the chemically induced gelation properties. of alginate in the presence of free calcium ions to produce a binding network. The algin/calcium gelation mechanism has been successful for binding comminuted products (Means and Schmidt, in both the raw and cooked states 1986). This binding system has not been evaluated intact muscle in sectioned and formed systems. Further research products applying using the algin/calcium gelling mechanism will inevitably lead to new applications of alginates in meat systems. Sensory perception of traditional structured meat products has been a major drawback at the retail level. The addition of salt and other processing effects have contributed to severe color problems and increased rancidity development in the finished structured product. Means et al. indicated a binding mechanism that would eliminate salt in the formulation and allow marketing in the fresh, refrigerated state. The objectives of this research were: (1) To evaluate the effectiveness of algin/calcium gels with or without the addition of adipic acid as adhesive binders in raw and cooked solid-muscle structured beef steaks. (2) To examine the refrigerated and frozen shelf-life characteristics of solid-muscle structured beef steaks produced with the algin/calcium/adipic acid gel