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Title: IMPACT OF THE HYDRODYNE PROCESS ON TENDERNESS, MICROBIAL LOAD, AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF PORK LONGISSIMUS MUSCLE

Author
item MOELLER, STEVE - OHIO STATE UNIV
item WULF, DUANE - OHIO STATE UNIV
item MEEKER, DAVID - OHIO STATE UNIV
item NDIFE, MATRID - OHIO STATE UNIV
item SUNDARARAJAN, NALINI - OHIO STATE UNIV
item Solomon, Morse

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/9/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Changes in genetics, feeding and management programs have resulted in producing leaner, more efficient swine, but accompanying this increase in lean edible tissue has been undesirable changes in muscle quality. These undesirable changes include: reduced intramuscular fat, lower ultimate pH, reduced water-holding capacity and increased inconsistency in meat tenderness. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of the Hydrodyne (H) process on meat palatability, color, cooking properties and microbial load of pork. Treating pork loins with H process resulted in a 17 percent improvement in meat tenderness with no observed differences in color yet a decrease in intramuscular fat. No detectable differences were observed for microbial load after treatment with H process. Results support the ability of H process to instantaneously improve tenderness without impacting other muscle quality attributes of pork.

Technical Abstract: Paired, boneless pork loin muscles were obtained from 76 market hogs to evaluate tenderness, meat quality characteristics, sensory attributes, and microbial characterization of pork muscle exposed to the Hydrodyne process (H=150 g) compared to the untreated control (C) loin. A subset of 16 paired loins was randomly selected for use in sensory evaluation and microbial characterization. Loins were vacuum packaged and immersed in a heat shrink tank prior to the H treatment. Administration of H resulted in a 17 percent improvement in Warner-Bratzler shear force (2.69 vs. 3.24 kg), with the shear force similar at two end-point cooking times (11 and 16 min) corresponding to approximately 75 and 83 deg C, respectively. The H loins had lower marbling scores (P<.05) and intra-muscular lipid (P<.05) content than the paired C loin. Microbial analysis results showed no differences in coliform bacteria counts, aerobic plate counts, and no detectable levels of fEscherichia coli bacteria in any loins. The findings support the ability o the Hydrodyne procedure to improve tenderness without impacting other muscle quality attributes of pork.