Meat Products
Changes in lifestyle, consumer trends and increased competitiveness have emerged as the driving forces in the processed meats sector. The onus will be to identify areas of growth through innovation and new product development, to shape the future of the sector.
Under the Foods for Health initiative, one objective is to increase the concentration of components in meat which are considered to be of benefit to human health. Particular emphasis has been placed on beneficial fatty acids. Work is underway that aims to further improve the fatty acid composition of grass-fed beef, through innovative nutritional strategies, without compromising colour and shelf life
Work is also underway to develop functional beef and beef-products. Similar research is being conducted in pork where both fresh meat and products (sausages) have been produced with improved fatty acid profile. The department has recently initiated a programme of research into functional meat products, where bioactive peptides with positive implications for health will be isolated from meat and offal. We are also sourcing currently available ingredients with positive implications for health (nutraceuticals, phytochemicals etc) for incorporation into meat products.
Reduction in additives, salt and fat are key factors in these developments. Innovations in value added and novel meat products including new curing technologies are also under investigation.
Development of Healthier Functional Meat Products
Diet is an important factor affecting human health and well-being. A heightened awareness of consumers nowadays on the relationship between diet and health/disease prevention has fostered growth in the development of ‘healthier’ food products. Many consumers have genuine health and nutritional concerns, and these concerns are often cited as the major factors influencing choice. In recent years we have seen a massive explosion of research activities and health products in the fields of nutraceuticals and functional foods. Nutraceuticals are defined as ‘chemicals found as a natural component of foods that have been determined to be beneficial to the human body in preventing or treating one or more diseases or improving or physiological performance’. Essential nutrients can be considered nutraceuticals if they provide benefit beyond their essential role in normal growth or maintenance of the human body.
Functional foods, by virtue of physiologically active components, benefit beyond basic nutrition by preventing disease or by improving the state of health. While a globally accepted definition has yet to be agreed, functional food is broadly regarded as generally consumed foodstuffs that may provide added health benefits following the addition/concentration of a beneficial ingredient, or the removal/substitution of an ineffective or harmful ingredient. Functional foods already available on the EU market include those with added cholesterol lowering plant sterols and stanols, as well as those containing live bacteria (probiotics) that allegedly enhance the quality of the human gut microflora.
This project will investigate the potential beneficial effects of a number of nutraceuticals/ phytochemicals (plant sources ,e.g. Lutein, ellagic acid, sesamol) and functional fats (CLA, camelina oil and omega-3) in cell culture models. The influence of the selected functional ingredients on chosen biomarkers and the effects on the antioxidant status of cells will be determined. Functional pork and beef products will be manufactured, containing the selected ingredients and the impact of these functional ingredients on meat quality parameters such as colour, oxidative stability, microbiological status and sensory properties will be evaluated. The main objectives of this research is to
- Determine the bioactivity of phytochemicals and nutraceuticals to be employed as functional ingredients in meat products
- Develop a range of functional/healthier fresh and cooked beef and pork products, using functional ingredients, that are nutrient rich and similar in terms of flavour, texture and shelf-life to conventional beef and pork products
- Provide the meat processing industry with comprehensive data on the viability and benefits of producing functional meat products.
Bioactive Peptides in Meat
Dietary proteins are an important source of biologically active peptides, which are produced during protein hydrolysis. To date, immunomodulary, antimicrobial, antithrombotic, antioxidant and antihypertensive active peptides have been discovered in a range of foods. While most of these physiologically active peptides are derived from milk, meat is also a potentially rich source of bioactive peptides and detailed studies are required to exploit their potential as pharmaceutical agents, food ingredients and antimicrobial compounds. We will harvest peptides from: the proteolytic digestion of beef subject to different ageing/maturing; a variety of meat fermentations;and from meat offal such as the liver and spleen. This research is being conducted in conjunction with our colleagues at Moorepark Food Research Centre, Teagasc and University College Cork. anne.mullen@teagasc.ie or declan.bolton@teagasc.ie
Developing novel convenient meat based products by application of high pressure processing (HPP)
This project aims to investigate the production of high quality foods that are fresh-tasting, nutritious and safe using high pressure processing (HPP) Once the influence of HPP on the muscle proteome is assessed optimum processing conditions will be established and HPP will be applied to meat pieces and sauces. The combination of HPP and thermal processing as a single sterilization procedure in ready meals is novel and has not been applied as yet. Consumer and industry attitudes towards HPP will be assessed using comprehensive marketing tools and cost benefit analysis. The outcome of the project will provide the Irish food industry with comprehensive data on the viability and benefits of producing convenience-style foods using HPP. tony.kenny@teagasc.ie or anne.mullen@teagasc.ie
Adding value to beef forequarters
Of the current annual total export value of beef of over €1,000M, only about 5% is in processed form. In the case of forequarter, the progressive reduction in EU export refunds is increasing the need to direct more of the beef to EU markets and, therefore, to add convenience and consumer appeal to it.
The objective of this research is to characterise individual muscles from beef forequarters in terms of composition, texture, sensory quality, protein extractability and protein functionality, and to apply this in development of added-value products using cold-set binders (See more...) tony.kenny@teagasc.ie or qiaofen.chen@teagasc.ie
Convenience beef
Part of our research approach is to examine the available raw material in a systematic manner and to match appropriate tenderising, binding and forming technology with individual muscles or groups of muscles.
In research studies 28 muscles were identified and seamed out from R3-grade steer forequarters. Physical, chemical and sensory analysis indicated that 15 out of the 28 had added-value potential.
The performance of several more forequarter muscles and some muscles from the hindquarter in reformed products is worthy of evaluation. A variety of binders and tenderisation methods will be evaluated to use with the different muscles. Practical problems of semi-automation , such as forming, filling and sealing of products will be investigated at pilot-plant level and in-factory. The potential for reformed joints in heat-and-serve category of products is worth studying in the light of the previous results showing their comparable structural integrity and eating quality to natural joints. tony.kenny@teagasc.ie
New curing technology
The objectives of the new curing technology project includes the development of novel processes and curing blends for accelerated curing of pork and beef; the investigation of cost-effective dry curing procedures for pork and beef cuts; the improvement of flavour and the reduction of additive levels in cured pork and beef products through application of starter cultures and physical treatments; and the production of added-value cured products from low-value cuts of pork and beef through use of cold-set meat bonding agents and marinating solutions.
Improved conditioning of raw pork to make it more adaptable to the modified curing methods will be investigated through variation of carcass hanging procedure and holding temperature before curing. Improvement of flavour and traditional nitrite-free curing will be investigated by use of bacterial starter cultures as cure accelerators with nitrate brines. tony.kenny@teagasc.ie
Efficient cooling of ready meals
In the production of ready meals, components such as rice, meat chunks, ingredients and sauce are cooled immediately after cooking for food safety reasons. Rapid cooling is beneficial to controlling growth of microorganisms, preserving quality, extending shelf life and increasing production efficiency.
Vacuum cooling is being investigated as a novel method to effect rapid chilling while preserving flavour and is compared with conventional chilling procedures currently employed in the ready meal industry. Mathematical models describing the heat and mass transfer during the cooling process will be developed and used to optimise cooling procedures. tony.kenny@teagasc.ie
Novel vacuum infra-red heating system for steriliser units in meat plants
Conventional directly heated electrical sterilisers have a high breakdown rate and are wasteful of water. The test system is based on a patented heating system originally developed for space exploration application.
This project which is grant-assisted under the CRAFT section of the EU 5th Framework research programme, is coordinated by DG Technology Ltd., Italy.
A prototype experimental unit will be installed in the research abattoir at the Ashtown Food Research Centre and evaluated for efficiency and safety of performance. Follow-up trials will be conducted in the meat plants of SME partners in Ireland, Italy and Spain, involving performance and reliability assessment and microbiological testing.
The expected benefits of the project are reduced power consumption, reduced water usage,increased reliability and increases operator safety. tony.kenny@teagasc.ie
