Modelling of the meat curing process considering tissue microstructure

GRAIVER NATALIA; PINOTTI ADRIANA; CALIFANO ALICIA; ZARITZKY NOEMÍ

Advanced Food Process Design: A structural approach. PART II: Food Process Modeling Considering Macro and Micro Structure Aspects.

Springer Science+Business Media, LLC,

Año: 2012;

Meat curing (wet process) is a food preservation method; muscles are immersed in brines containing sodium chloride, nitrite and nitrate salts that modify tissue microstructure, water retention, protein solubilization, flavor and color. Differential scanning calorimetry was applied to analyze the effect of NaCl concentration on myofibrillar protein denaturation. At low concentrations, swelling of the fibers and high values of the water holding capacity were observed; at higher NaCl concentrations the phenomenon was reversed. A mass transfer mathematical model was developed to analyze the uptake of the curing salts in meat pieces; the partial differential equations under transient conditions were solved numerically, considering the diffusive and the convective contributions of the different solutes. The effect of NaCl on the diffusion coefficients of the curing salts was considered. The numerical model was validated using results obtained from salt diffusion experiments in meat cylinders immersed in curing brines. The model was applied to define adequate wet curing conditions for an industrial piece of meat, to be immersed in brine without exceeding the maximum permitted nitrite value (200ppm) and the recommendable NaCl concentration.