Texture Changes in Meat during Storage

FERNANDA COLL CÁRDENAS; DANIELA OLIVERA

Reference Module in Food Sciences

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Año: 2016;

Meat texture is the most important aspect of eating quality, affecting consumer acceptance and price. Consumers are willing to paymore for guaranteed tender beef and understanding, controlling, and predicting this characteristic has been extensively researched(Miller et al., 2001).The toughness of the meat is determined by the ultrastructure formed by different components such as protein, fat, and connectivetissue, as well as the quantity and quality of these components. Thus the composition and structural organization coupled withpostmortem biochemical changes and storage conditions are important elements to describe the mechanisms that define final meattexture.From a consumer?s point of view, the textural parameter of primary importance is tenderness, and it refers to the ease with whichthe meat yields on chewing and how much energy is required to masticate it to the state ready for swallowing (Szczesniak, 1998).This article is focused on studying changes that occur in meat texture during storage. In this aspect, the effect of storage conditionson meat tenderness have been examined, as well as the different instrumental and sensory techniques used to evaluate thisattribute.