Utility of winter mushroom treated by atmospheric non-thermal plasma as an alternative for synthetic nitrite and phosphate in ground ham.

The utility of plasma-treated winter mushroom powder (PWMP) as an alternative to synthetic nitrite and phosphate in ground ham was evaluated. Treatment of atmospheric non-thermal plasma generated nitrite in winter mushroom homogenate, and PWMP contained 4.87 g/kg of nitrite. Canned ground ham samples without nitrite and phosphate (NC), with sodium nitrite and sodium pyrophosphate (PC), and with PWMP (PWM) were manufactured, sterilized (F0 > 4), and stored under accelerated conditions (40 °C) for 30 days. The nitrosyl-hemochrome content and color of PWM were similar to those of PC, without differences in the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value. The proportion of jelly and melted fat exuded from ground hams in PWM exceeded that in PC but was lower than that in NC (P < .05). Therefore, PWMP can successfully replace synthetic nitrite, but it is an insufficient substitute for phosphate in ground ham.

The use of atmospheric pressure plasma as a curing process for canned ground ham.

This study investigated the potential use of atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) treatment as a curing process for canned ground ham. APP treatment for 60min while mixing increased the nitrite content in the meat batters from 0.64 to 60.50mgkg-1 while the pH and the total content of aerobic bacteria in the meat batters were unchanged. The canned ground hams cured by the APP treatment for 30min displayed no difference in their physicochemical qualities, such as nitrosyl hemochrome, color, residual nitrite, texture, lipid oxidation, and protein oxidation, compared with those of canned ground hams cured with sodium nitrite or celery powder at 42mgkg-1 of nitrite. The canned ground hams cured by the APP treatment received a higher score in taste and overall acceptability than those cured with sodium nitrite. Canned ground ham can be cured by the APP treatment without nitrite additives.

The use of atmospheric pressure plasma-treated water as a source of nitrite for emulsion-type sausage.

We investigated the possible use of atmospheric pressure plasma-treated water (PTW) as a nitrite source in curing process. Emulsion-type sausages were manufactured with PTW, celery powder containing nitrite, and synthetic sodium nitrite at a concentration of nitrite ion 70mgkg(-1). In terms of sausage quality, there were no noticeable effects of PTW on the total aerobic bacterial counts, color, and peroxide values of sausages compared with those of celery powder and sodium nitrite throughout 28days of storage at 4°C. Sausage with added PTW had lower concentrations of residual nitrite compared to those of added celery powder and sodium nitrite during the storage period (P<0.05). The sensory properties of PTW-treated and sodium nitrite-treated sausages were not different, whereas the sausage with added celery powder received the lowest scores in taste and acceptability. From the results, it is concluded that PTW can be used as a nitrite source equivalent to a natural curing agent.

Color Developing Capacity of Plasma-treated Water as a Source of Nitrite for Meat Curing.

The interaction of plasma with liquid generates nitrogen species including nitrite (NO(-) 2). Therefore, the color developing capacity of plasma-treated water (PTW) as a nitrite source for meat curing was investigated in this study. PTW, which is generated by surface dielectric barrier discharge in air, and the increase of plasma treatment time resulted in increase of nitrite concentration in PTW. The PTW used in this study contains 46 ppm nitrite after plasma treatment for 30 min. To evaluate the effect of PTW on the cured meat color, meat batters were prepared under three different conditions (control, non-cured meat batter; PTW, meat batter cured with PTW; Sodium nitrite, meat batter cured with sodium nitrite). The meat batters were vacuum-packaged and cooked in a water-bath at 80℃ for 30 min. The typical color of cured meat developed in cooked meat batter treated with sodium nitrite or PTW. The lightness (L*) and yellowness (b*) values were similar in all conditions, whereas, the redness (a*) values of cooked meat batter with PTW and sodium nitrite (p<0.05) were significantly higher than the control. These data indicate that PTW can be used as a nitrite source in the curing process of meat without addition of other nitrite sources.