Effect of Electron Beam Dose Rate on the Protein Quality and Sensory Characteristics of Chilled Beef
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Abstract:
To evaluate the effect of electron beam dose rate on the ultrastructure, protein quality, and sensory characteristics of chilled beef, Longissimus dorsi muscles obtained from Chinese Yellow Cattle were irradiated at 2.5 kGy with dose rates of 30, 150, 300 kGy/min using a high-energy electron accelerator. The samples were stored at 4 ℃ to determine the effects of dose rate and storage time on the values of color, odor, ultrastructure, protein content, and amino acid component of the chilled beef at each storage period. At the beginning of storage, a comparison of the experimental and control groups demonstrated that the irradiated samples had a darker color, an off-odor, and a lower sensory evaluation score. However, with a prolonged storage time, the overall quality of the control samples decreased, while those of irradiated samples remained relatively stable. The quality of the chilled beef exposed to 150 kGy/min was better than that in the other irradiation groups. Irradiation accelerated aging of the beef meat. The effect of 150 kGy/min irradiation on sarcomere length was similar to the influence of 15 d of storage. The irradiation technique did not affect the protein content and amino acid component of the chilled beef. However, the amounts of lysine, valine, and other essential amino acids were affected by the storage time.
