Synergistic Preservation of Fresh Pork: Coupling Electrostatic Field and Packaging During Controlled Freezing-Point...

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Meat Science
• Food Preservation Technologies

Background:

• Spoilage and quality deterioration are major challenges in meat preservation.
• Effective packaging and storage methods are crucial for extending the shelf life of pork.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the synergistic effects of electrostatic field (EF) combined with different packaging methods (polyethylene, vacuum, modified atmosphere) on Yorkshire pork preservation.
• To investigate the impact of EF and packaging on microbial growth, water-holding capacity, lipid oxidation, and color stability during cold storage.

Main Methods:

• Yorkshire pork (hind leg) was subjected to controlled freezing-point storage (-2.0 ± 0.5 °C) for 32 days.
• Treatments included electrostatic field (EF) application combined with polyethylene (PP), vacuum packaging (VP), and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).
• Evaluated parameters included water-holding capacity, microbial counts (total viable counts), spoilage organism abundance (Pseudomonas), lipid oxidation (TBARS), color stability, and TVB-N.

Main Results:

• EF treatment significantly improved water-holding capacity in PP-packaged pork, reducing storage loss by ~37.89%.
• EF inhibited microbial growth, keeping total viable counts below 6.00 log10 (CFU/g), and reduced Pseudomonas abundance.
• Synergistic effects between EF and VP/MAP were observed in optimizing microbial community structure.
• VP and MAP alone were more effective in delaying lipid oxidation and maintaining color stability.

Conclusions:

• EF combined with packaging offers a promising strategy for preserving pork quality during cold chain storage.
• EF enhances water-holding capacity and microbial control, while VP/MAP excels in preventing lipid oxidation and maintaining color.
• This study provides crucial parameters for applying EF-coupled packaging in industrial cold chain applications.