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. 2021 Jan 25;10(2):241.
doi: 10.3390/foods10020241.

Exploring the Effect of Pulsed Electric Fields on the Technological Properties of Chicken Meat

Giulia Baldi  1 , Fabio D'Elia  1 , Francesca Soglia  1 , Silvia Tappi  1   2 , Massimiliano Petracci  1   2 , Pietro Rocculi  1   2
Affiliations

Exploring the Effect of Pulsed Electric Fields on the Technological Properties of Chicken Meat

Giulia Baldi et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Pulsed electric field (PEF) is a non-thermal technology which is increasingly drawing the interest of the meat industry. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of PEF on the main technological properties of chicken meat, by investigating the role of the most relevant process parameters such as the number of pulses (150 vs. 300 and 450 vs. 600) and the electric field strength (0.60 vs. 1.20 kV/cm). Results indicated that PEF does not exert any effect on meat pH and just slightly affects lightness and yellowness. Low-intensity PEF treatments improved the water holding capacity of chicken meat by significantly (p < 0.001) reducing drip loss up to 28.5% during 4 days of refrigerated storage, without damaging proteins' integrity and functionality. Moreover, from the analysis of the process parameters, it has been possible to highlight that increasing the number of pulses is more effective in reducing meat drip loss rather than doubling the electric field strengths. From an industrial point of view, the results of this explorative study suggested the potential of PEF to reduce the undesired liquid inside the package, thus improving consumer acceptance.

Keywords: chicken meat; meat proteins; meat quality; pulsed electric fields; technological properties; water holding capacity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sampling procedure adopted for the experiments. Meat samples were cut from the cranial position of each fillet following fibers direction (n = 10 meat samples/breast muscle).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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