Effect of NaCl, polydextrose, and storage conditions on the functional characteristics and microbial quality of pre- and post-rigor salted beef.

The functionality and microbial storage life of pre-rigor beef mince stored at -1.5 °C under vacuum or a saturated carbon dioxide atmosphere, or at -18 °C in polyethylene bags, was investigated. Salt (2% w w ) or salt plus the cryoprotectant Polydextrose(®) (2%/2.6% w w ) was added pre-rigor to some samples. Chilled storage decreased salt soluble protein (SSP) by 13-18% (P < 0.01); frozen storage decreased SSP content by 20%. Pre-rigor salted mince in saturated carbon dioxide packs had a satisfactory microbial quality after 12 weeks storage. The cook yield of finely comminuted sausage batters made from that mince and from fresh pre-rigor mince were similar, although batter stress and strain decreased with chilled storage. Adding Polydextrose(®) to salted mince improved batter strain compared with the non-additive and salt-only samples and improved batter stress compared with the salt-only samples. The microbial storage life of chilled vacuumpacked unsalted mince was less than 6 weeks; pre-rigor salting increased its storage life.