PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF SMOKED PORK LOIN PRODUCED WITH AN ALTERNATIVE CURING SYSTEM
Keywords:
smoked pork loin, Swiss chard powder, acerola, starter culture, sensory quality, physicochemical propertiesAbstract
This study extends previous research on colour development in industrially produced semi-dry smoked pork loin by evaluating additional physicochemical characteristics and sensory quality of the same experimental batches. Four groups of smoked pork loin were produced in three production replicates under industrial conditions: group I with table salt, dextrose and ascorbic acid; group II with nitrite salt, dextrose and ascorbic acid; group III with nitrite salt, dextrose, ascorbic acid and starter culture BactoFerm Rosa; and group IV with table salt, Swiss chard powder, dextrose, acerola powder and starter culture BactoFerm Rosa. Samples were analysed during salting and after thermal processing, while sensory evaluation of the finished products was performed by 10 assessors using descriptive sensory scoring scales. During processing, water activity and moisture content decreased in all groups, whereas dry matter-related components increased, reflecting dehydration and salt diffusion during salting and thermal processing. In the final product, pH values remained within a narrow range, indicating that the starter culture did not cause a marked pH change in smoked pork loin as a non-fermented whole-muscle product. Group III showed the most favourable sensory profile, particularly for cut-surface colour, odour, taste, aroma and overall impression. Group IV had favourable texture and aroma scores, but poor cut-surface colour development, which negatively affected the overall impression. The results indicate that nitrite salt combined with starter culture provided the most balanced quality profile, whereas direct application of Swiss chard powder with acerola powder and starter culture requires further technological optimization to achieve uniform colour development.
References
AOAC International. (2007). AOAC Official Method 2007.04: Fat, moisture, and protein in meat and meat products using the FOSS FoodScan near-infrared spectrophotometer. AOAC International.
Bhusal, A., & Muriana, P. M. (2021). Isolation and characterization of nitrate reducing bacteria for conversion of Vegetable-Derived nitrate to ‘Natural nitrite.’ Applied Microbiology, 1(1), 11–23. https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol1010002
Carnero-Hernández, A., Alarcon-Rojo, A. D., Garcia-Galicia, I. A., Aguilar-Palma, G. N., Carrillo-Lopez, L. M., & Huerta-Jimenez, M. (2023). Processing smoked pork loin using Ultrasound-Assisted curing. Processes, 11(1), 275. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11010275
Daszkiewicz, T., Bąk, T., & Denaburski, J. (2005). Quality of pork with a different intramuscular fat (IMF) content. Polish Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 55(1), 31–36.
Desmond, E. (2006). Reducing salt: A challenge for the meat industry. Meat Science, 74(1), 188–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2006.04.014
Hwang, J., Kim, Y., Seo, Y., Sung, M., Oh, J., & Yoon, Y. (2023). Effect of starter cultures on quality of fermented sausages. Food Science of Animal Resources, 43(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.5851/kosfa.2022.e75
Institute of Food Technologists, Sensory Evaluation Division (SEG). (1989). Sensory evaluation guide for testing food and beverage products. Food Technology, 35(11), 50–59.
International Organization for Standardization. (1996). ISO 1841-1:1996: Meat and meat products -Determination of chloride content -Part 1: Volhard method. ISO.
International Organization for Standardization. (1998). ISO 936:1998: Meat and meat products -Determination of total ash. ISO.
International Organization for Standardization. (2004). ISO 21807:2004: Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs—Determination of water activity. ISO.
Kim, T., Hwang, K., Song, D., Ham, Y., Kim, Y., Paik, H., & Choi, Y. (2019). Effects of natural nitrite source from Swiss chard on quality characteristics of cured pork loin. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, 32(12), 1933–1941. doi.org/10.5713/ajas.19.0117
Kim, T., Yong, H. I., Jung, S., Kim, H., & Choi, Y. (2021). Effect of reducing sodium chloride based on the sensory properties of meat products and the improvement strategies employed: a review. Journal of Animal Science and Technology, 63(4), 725-739.
https://doi.org/10.5187/jast.2021.e74
Kim, H., & Chin, K. B. (2022). Physicochemical properties of reduced-salt cured pork loin as affected by different freezing temperature and storage periods. Animal Bioscience, 35(3), 494–502. https://doi.org/10.5713/ab.21.0320
Shakil, M. H., Trisha, A. T., Rahman, M., Talukdar, S., Kobun, R., Huda, N., & Zzaman, W. (2022). Nitrites in cured meats, Health risk issues, Alternatives to Nitrites: A review. Foods, 11(21), 3355. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11213355
Silovska Nikolova, A., & Belichovska, D. (2021). Application of natural sources of nitrite of plant origin in meat processing industry. Knowledge - International Journal, 45(3), 577–582.
Silovska Nikolova, A., Pejkovski, Z., Markovska, L. V., Belichovska, D., Nakov, D., & Belichovska, K. (2022). The effect of Swiss chard powder and starter cultures on colour development in smoked pork loin. Journal of Agricultural Food and Environmental Sciences, 76(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.55302/jafes22762001sn
StatSoft, Inc. (2007). STATISTICA (Version 8.0) [Computer software]. StatSoft, Inc.
Szpicer, A., Binkowska, W., Wojtasik-Kalinowska, I., & Poltorak, A. (2023). Prediction of protein denaturation and weight loss in pork loin (muscle Longissimus dorsi) using computational fluid dynamics. European Food Research and Technology, 249(12), 3055–3068. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-023-04348-0
Yong, H. I., Kim, T., Choi, H., Jang, H. W., Jung, S., & Choi, Y. (2021). Clean Label meat Technology: Pre-Converted nitrite as a natural curing. Food Science of Animal Resources, 41(2), 173–184. https://doi.org/10.5851/kosfa.2020.e96
Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhang, Y., Jia, J., Peng, H., Qian, Q., Pan, Z., & Liu, D. (2023). Nitrite and nitrate in meat processing: Functions and alternatives. Current Research in Food Science, 6, 100470. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crfs.2023.100470
