„Effect of salt and transglutaminase

(TG) level and processing

conditions on quality characteristics

of phosphate-free, cooked,

restructured pork shoulder”

M.A. Dimitrakopoulou, J.A. Ambrosiadis,

F.K. Zetou, J.G. Bloukas

Meat Science (70) 2005

Introduction

 Restructured cooked pork shoulder is prepared

from small cuts of meat in an effort to increase
the yield of marketable product by using
muscles of poorer quality and trimmings. Salt
and phosphate are added in order to maintain
the binding of meat pieces

 Salt added to the meat products affects flavor,

preservation, safety, texture characteristics
and consumer acceptability. Traditionally, salt
has been used in restructured meat products
to bind meat pieces along with heat treatment

Introduction

•Phosphate enhances the effect of salt

and with its addition, good water
binding can be reached at a rather low
salt content of about 1.5% NaCl

•The presence of excessive amounts

of phosphates in the diet may influence
the calcium, iron and magnesium
balance in the human body, and can
increase the risk of bone diseases

Introduction

• Transglutaminase is an enzyme with

the revolutionary ability to improve
the functional characteristics of
protein such as nutritional value,
texture, taste and shelf-life by
catalyzing the reactions on cross-
linking by intra- and intermolecular
binding proteins and amino acids

Introduction

• Transglutaminase can adhere to the

bonding surfaces of foods such as meat,
fish, shells, eggs and vegetables as a thin
layer and exhibits strong adhesion in
small amounts

• During the last decade transglutaminase

has been used in the production of
restructured meat products, chicken
sausages and cooked ham

Aim of Study

The purpose of this study was to
investigate the effect of salt and
transglutaminase level and
processing conditions of restructured
cooked pork shoulder in order to
produce phosphate-free product with
reduced salt content

Materials and methods

• Six treatments of restructured cooked pork

shoulder with two levels of salt (2% and 1%) and
three levels of transglutaminase (0%, 0.075% and
0.15%) were prepared

• The meat pieces underwent a massaging process

for 90 min. After massaging the meat pieces were
vacuum filled in metal cans and cooked in a hot
water bath at 72°C for 65 min

• After cooling with ice-water the cans were put into

cold storage at 2°C. Then, cans were opened on
the fifth day of storage for physicochemical
analyses

Results

• Salt level and processing conditions significantly

affected the cooking losses of restructured
shoulder while the transglutaminase level had no
affect

• Salt level significantly affected the colour of the

product. The lightness (L*) and the yellowness (b*)
of the restructured shoulder were increased while
the redness (a*) was reduced when the salt level
was lowered from 2% to 1%

• Transglutaminase level and processing conditions

had no significant effect on lightness, redness and
yellowness of the restructured cooked pork shoulder

Results

• Transglutaminase level had no effect on the

firmness, the juiciness and the colour of the
product

• The interaction between the salt level and

processing conditions significantly affected the
firmness, the consistency, the juiciness and
colour

Conclusions

It is concluded that transglutaminase
can be used at a level of 0.15% to
produce phosphate-free restructured
cooked pork shoulder with reduced salt
level (1%) and desirable texture
profile. Processing at 72⁰C for 65 min
reduces the cooking losses during
storage and improves the consistency
and the juiciness of the product