Restructured Pork from Hot Processed Sow Meat: Effect of Encapsulated Food Acids

Encapsulated food acids were used in the manufacture of cured, restructured pork from pre-rigor sow meat. The four treatments were: (a) control, (b) sodium acid pyrophosphate (SAP), (c) sodium acid pyrophosphate plus encapsulated lactic acid (LA), and (d) sodium acid pyrophosphate plus encapsulated glucono-delta-lactone (GDL). Sodium acid pyrophosphate was included in three of the treatments in this study because of its ability to catalyze the curing reaction. Products were manufactured from timmings ground through a 3.2-mm plate on a plate grinder and tenderized muscle chunks ground through a 10-mm plate which were blended together in a ratio of 50:50. No significant differences existed among treatments for percent fat (P>0.05). According to sensory panels, the SAP and GDL treatments were rated as having a more intense flavor than the control treatment (P<0.05). Objective analysis revealed no difference in shear value, tensile strength, water-holding capacity, cooked yield or chilled yield. Significantly more of the total meat pigment was converted to nitroso-hematin in the GDL treatment as compared to the control treatment (P<0.05).