Panitsa Athanasia, Petsi Theano, Kanellaki Maria, Koutinas Athanasios A, Kandylis Panagiotis
Food Biotechnology Group, Department of Chemistry, University of Patras, Panepistimioupoli, Rio Achaias, 26504 Patras, Greece.
Department of Food Science and Technology, Ionian University, Vergoti Avenue, Argostoli, 28100 Kefallonia, Greece.
Food Technol Biotechnol. 2024 Mar;62(1):119-126. doi: 10.17113/ftb.62.01.24.8154.
Nitrite salts are among the most used preservatives in meat products as they ensure their safe consumption. Despite their positive effects on food safety and stability, many side effects on human health have been reported, leading to the need to reduce their use. Therefore, the aim of this study is to produce veal products with low nitrite content through low diffusion of potassium nitrite and to study their microbiological characteristics.
Edible tubular cellulose from leaf celery was produced and KNO was encapsulated in this material. This was achieved in two ways: by impregnation of tubular cellulose in a KNO solution under stirring and using starch gel as a stabilizer. Two samples of impregnated cellulose were applied on the surface of two veal samples of which one was stored at room temperature and the other at 3 °C. Similarly, two samples of cellulose with starch gel were applied on the surface of two veal samples of which one was stored at room temperature and the other at 3 °C. The KNO diffusion in different depths of the meat was measured and its effect on the microbiological characteristics of the meat was evaluated. Τhe experiment was carried out in duplicate.
A satisfactory percentage of about 70 % of the initially encapsulated amount of KNO was diffused in the meat, while the rest remained in the pores of the delignified leaf celery. The migrating amount of KNO proved to be effective in preserving meat, as the microbiological load decreased significantly (especially within the first 12 h, from a decrease of 0.6 log CFU/g up to 2.4 log CFU/g).
The demand for meat products with low nitrite content is constantly increasing and the results of the present study are promising for the development of this technology in scale-up systems and on an industrial scale. This innovative approach could lead to products with controlled diffusion of the preservatives.
亚硝酸盐是肉制品中使用最为广泛的防腐剂之一，因为它们能确保肉制品的安全食用。尽管亚硝酸盐对食品安全和稳定性有积极作用，但已有许多关于其对人体健康产生副作用的报道，因此需要减少其使用量。因此，本研究的目的是通过亚硝酸钾的低扩散来生产亚硝酸盐含量低的小牛肉制品，并研究其微生物特性。
从叶芹菜中提取可食用的管状纤维素，并将硝酸钾封装在该材料中。这通过两种方式实现：在搅拌条件下将管状纤维素浸渍在硝酸钾溶液中，并使用淀粉凝胶作为稳定剂。将两份浸渍纤维素样品分别应用于两份小牛肉样品表面，其中一份在室温下储存，另一份在3℃下储存。同样，将两份含有淀粉凝胶的纤维素样品分别应用于两份小牛肉样品表面，其中一份在室温下储存，另一份在3℃下储存。测量了硝酸钾在肉中不同深度的扩散情况，并评估了其对肉微生物特性的影响。实验重复进行了两次。
约70%的初始封装硝酸钾量在肉中扩散，令人满意，其余部分留在脱木质素叶芹菜的孔隙中。事实证明，硝酸钾的迁移量对肉类保存有效，因为微生物负荷显著降低（尤其是在最初12小时内，从降低0.6 log CFU/g到2.4 log CFU/g）。
对低亚硝酸盐含量肉制品的需求不断增加，本研究结果有望推动该技术在放大系统和工业规模上的发展。这种创新方法可能会带来防腐剂扩散可控的产品。
