Improvement of muscle protein functionality in processed meats by magnesium and other divalent chloride salts

Concern over dietary fat in processed meats led to the passage of the '40 per cent' rule in the United States. Substitution of NaCl, linked to hypertension, with divalent chloride salts such as MgCl2 and CaCl2 has shown limited success. Early studies showed that these divalent salts had a deleterious effect on the functional properties of meat when used at product levels that resulted in high aqueous phase ionic strengths (0.4-0.6). However, our research focus has been to determine the utility of low levels (0.05 per cent) of MgCl2, CaCl2 and ZnCl2 in improving the functional properties of processed meats. Effects of divalent salts have been evaluated in turkey breast and thigh minces, beef model systems, and frankfurter formulations containing heart muscle. To determine if time postmortem affects muscle's response to divalent cations, salts were added to broiler thigh muscle in the early postmortem period. The important findings were (1) MgCl2 increased myosin solubility, (2) CaCl2 enhanced gel forming ability in cooked batters, and (3) ZnCl2 dramatically decreased myosin solubility in the absence of food-grade phosphate (sodium tripolyphosphate).