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Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports Animal Science Department

2019 Comparison of Traditional and Alternative Curing Ingredients on Curing Reactions in a Model Meat System Faith D. Rasmussen

Gary A. Sullivan University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected]

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Rasmussen, Faith D. and Sullivan, Gary A., "Comparison of Traditional and Alternative Curing Ingredients on Curing Reactions in a Model Meat System" (2019). Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports. 1015. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/animalscinbcr/1015

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Animal Science Department at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Nebraska Beef Cattle Reports by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Comparison of Traditional and Alternative Curing Ingredients on Curing Reactions in a Model Meat System

Faith D. Rasmussen to produce the pink cured meat pigment sodium nitrite with NaCl and sodium ery- Gary A. Sullivan nitrosylhemochromagen. Nitrite also reacts thorbate (equivalent to 547 ppm; SN/SE). with sulfur-­containing proteins in the meat, Two alternative curing system solutions Summary with Implications specifically cysteine, to generate nitrosated were developed for comparison against the cysteine. The speed of these reactions is traditional systems: celery juice powder To meet consumer trends, alternative increased by adding a cure accelerator. So- (VegStable 504, Florida Food Products, Inc., curing ingredients are used to replace dium erythorbate is typically used as a cure Eustis, FL; CP), and celery juice powder sodium nitrite and cure accelerators. Due accelerator in processed meat manufac- and acerola cherry powder (VegStable 515 to the complexity of meat, it is challenging turing but natural sources of ascorbic acid, to provide 486 ppm ascorbic acid; CP/CH.). to compare traditional and alternative such as cherry juice powder, can provide a The curing system solutions were evaluated ingredients for curing reactions. Using a similar function. at ingoing nitrite concentrations of 10, 50, model system, sources of nitrite (traditional, Consumer demand for natural prod- 100, 150, and 200 ppm of sodium nitrite or sodium nitrite and alternative, cultured ucts is increasing, and traditional curing equivalent from celery juice powder. celery juice powder), salt, and cure acceler- ingredients are being replaced with alter- A curing solution (5 ml) was added to ators (traditional, sodium erythorbate, or native ingredients to produce cured meat each model meat solution (5 ml) in 13 ml alternative, cherry juice powder) at ingoing products. Synthetic sodium nitrite can be test tubes, capped, heated in a water bath sodium nitrite concentrations of 10, 50, 100, replaced with cultured celery juice powder, (30 min at 104°F, and 30 min at 176°F), 150, or 200 ppm were evaluated for curing and sodium erythorbate can be replaced and air cooled (15 min at 73°F) to simulate reactions. More complete curing reactions with ascorbic acid from acerola cherries. meat curing during the cooking. All model were indicated by a higher concentration of While similar product characteristics can curing solutions were analyzed for residual cured meat pigment, and lower sulfhydryl be achieved with traditional or alternative nitrite, residual sulfhydryl groups, and groups. Lower residual nitrite indicates sources of curing ingredients, tracking residual reducing capacity (DPPH neutral- reduction of nitrite into nitric oxide, and specific reactions can allow for a more de- ized). In addition, the model meat curing higher reducing capacity indicates a higher tailed understanding of the equivalency of solutions containing myoglobin were evalu- concentration of antioxidants. Traditional traditional and alternative ingredients. The ated for cured meat pigment concentration nitrite and celery juice powder treatments objective of this study was to evaluate the (nitrosylhemochromogen). had similar concentrations of residual nitrite effects of curing solutions containing either The experiment was conducted as and cured meat pigment. Celery juice powder traditional sources of nitrite and cure accel- a completely randomized design with treatments with and without a cure acceler- erators, or alternative sources of nitrite and a factorial treatment arrangement and ator had the most sulfhydryl groups and a cure accelerators and the effect of ingoing three independent replications. Data were high residual reducing capacity. This research nitrite concentration on curing reactions in analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure of demonstrates cultured celery juice powder model meat systems. SAS. Interactions of effects and main effects and cherry powder develop similar concen- of model meat solution (cysteine, or cys- trations of cured meat pigment as traditional teine and myoglobin), curing system (SN, Procedure sodium nitrite and sodium erythorbate, but SN/NA, SN/SE, CP, CP/CH), and ingoing antioxidants native to alternative ingredi- The project used a factorial arrangement nitrite concentration (10, 50, 100, 150, or ents may lessen the production of nitrosated of treatments: 2 meat model solutions, 5 200 ppm) were analyzed. When significant cysteine. curing system solutions, and 5 ingoing interactions or main effects were identified nitrite concentrations. The meat model (P ≤ 0.05), means separation was conducted Introduction solutions were cysteine (615 ppm) and using the post hoc adjustment of Tukey cysteine plus myoglobin (615 ppm and 48 honestly significant difference test. In meat curing, many reactions occur ppm, respectively), in a 5.6 pH phosphate between the meat, nitrite, and other added buffer. Using the two meat model solutions Results ingredients. These reactions contribute to provided the ability to decipher differences familiar cured meat characteristics such as in reactions with each component. Solu- Nitrite reactions: Cured Meat Pigment color, flavor, aroma, and safety. Traditional tions were evaluated representing different and Residual Sulfhydryl Groups curing processes utilize sodium nitrite. curing systems. The three traditional curing In this system, curing reactions occur Nitrite reacts with myoglobin in meat, system solutions were evaluated: sodium with nitrite, myoglobin, and the amino acid nitrite (SN), sodium nitrite with sodium cysteine. Cure accelerators increase the rate © The Board Regents of the University of chloride (NaCl) to equal the salt contained Nebraska. All rights reserved. and extent of the reactions. Nitrite reactions in celery juice powder treatments (SN/NA),

2019 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report · 105 Table 1. Influence of curing system and ingoing nitrite concentration on cured meat pigment and residual reducing capacity (reflected as DPPH Neutralized) using a model meat curing system

Residual reducing capacity Curing System1 Cured Meat Pigment (ppm) (DPPH Neutralized (µM)) SN 15.96b 2.98d SN/NA 18.18b 3.14cd SN/SE 19.23ab 4.98b CP 16.76b 3.46c CP/CH 22.57a 6.65a Figure 2. Interaction of curing system and ingoing nitrite concentration on residual sulf- Standard error 0.99 1.00 hydryl groups in a model meat curing system. Residual reducing capacity SN-­sodium nitrite, SN/NA-­sodium nitrite and Ingoing nitrite concentration (ppm) Cured meat pigment (ppm) (DPPH neutralized (µM)) sodium chloride SN/SE-­Sodium nitrite, sodium 10 13.4y 4.65x chloride and sodium erythorbate, CP-­Cultured 50 17.85x 4.41xy celery juice powder, CP/CH-­Cultured celery juice powder and acerola cherry juice powder. 100 19.71x 4.18yz Error bars indicate ± standard error. 150 20.52x 4.01yz 200 21.22x 3.93z Standard error 0.97 1.00 1SN-­sodium nitrite, SN/NA-­sodium nitrite and sodium chloride SN/SE-­Sodium nitrite, sodium chloride and sodium erythor- Residual Nitrite bate, CP-­Cultured celery juice powder, CP/CH-­Cultured celery juice powder and acerola cherry juice powder An interaction between curing system a-­dFor curing system main effect, means within a column without a common superscript are significantly differentP ( < 0.001) x-­zFor ingoing nitrite concentration main effect, means within a column without a common superscript are significantly different and ingoing nitrite concentration occurred (P < 0.001) for residual nitrite concentration (P < 0.05; Figure 2). At 10 ppm, no differences between curing systems could be identified cured meat pigment indicat- but as the concentration of ingoing nitrite ing that a greater portion of increased, differences between curing the total myoglobin reacted systems were identified. Curing systems with nitrite. The amount without cure accelerators (SN, SN/NA, CP) of cured meat pigment was displayed greater concentrations of residual greater when ingoing nitrite nitrite than those with cure accelerators increased from 10 to 50 ppm (SN/SE, CP/CH), and residual nitrite but did not increase further concentration increased with increasing when greater than 50 ppm of ingoing nitrite concentration. This can be nitrite was added. Figure 1. Interaction of curing system and ingoing nitrite con- explained by cure accelerators increasing An interaction between centration on residual nitrite in a model meat curing system. the reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide to curing system and ingoing SN-­sodium nitrite, SN/NA-­sodium nitrite and sodium chloride react with components of the model meat SN/SE-­Sodium nitrite, sodium chloride and sodium erythorbate, nitrite concentration also was system as would occur during meat curing. CP-­Cultured celery juice powder, CP/CH-­Cultured celery juice identified for the concentra- powder and acerola cherry juice powder. Error bars indicate ± tion of residual sulfhydryl standard error. groups (P < 0.001; Figure Residual Reducing Capacity 1). At 10 ppm, all curing For residual reducing capacity, mea- with myoglobin result in the production of systems were similar. As ingoing nitrite sured by DPPH neutralized, the main cured meat pigment (nitrosylhemochro- concentration increased, curing systems effects of curing system and ingoing nitrite magen) and nitrite reactions with cysteine containing celery juice powder had more concentration were significant P( < 0.001; produce nitrosated cysteine result in fewer residual sulfhydryl groups (CP, CP/CH) Table 1). The CP/CH curing solution residual sulfhydryl groups. As nitrite is than any treatment with sodium nitrite (SN, had the most residual reducing capacity consumed by reactions in the system, lower SN/NA, SN/SE). The SN/SE treatment was followed by the SN/SE; these had add- residual nitrite levels occur. intermediate and traditional curing systems ed cure accelerators which are reducing In this experiment, the main effects of without sodium erythorbate (SN, SN/NA) compounds. Celery juice treatments had curing system and ingoing nitrite con- had the least residual sulfhydryl groups; more residual reducing capacity than the centration were significant for cured meat suggesting cure accelerators (reducing com- traditional alternatives, indicating native pigment (P < 0.001; Table 1). Treatments pounds) or other antioxidant compounds antioxidant compounds in the powders. As containing cure accelerators (SN/SE and in cultured celery juice powder could shift ingoing nitrite concentration increased the CP/CH) had greater concentrations of nitrosating reactions to produce less nitro- residual reducing capacity decreased since sated cysteine.

106 · 2019 Nebraska Beef Cattle Report more could be utilized to reduce nitrite Conclusions containing amino acids. This experiment to nitric oxide with greater ingoing nitrite helps provide a better understanding of the concentrations. Results from this model system can be equivalency of traditional or alternative used to better explain the curing reactions nitrite sources and can be used in combi- that occur between nitrite, myoglobin, and nation with previous research to provide Meat System Effect on Residual sulfur-­containing amino acids in meat. Tra- better recommendations to processors who Nitrite and Sulfhydryl groups ditional and alternative curing ingredients are interested in producing alternatively The cysteine model meat solution had developed similar cured meat pigment, es- cured beef products. less residual nitrite and less remaining pecially when cure accelerators were used. Faith D. Rasmussen, graduate student sulfhydryl groups than the cysteine and However, the use of cultured celery juice myoglobin model solution (P < 0.001), powder and acerola cherry juice powder Gary A. Sullivan, associate professor, suggesting the reaction of nitrite with resulted in less nitrosated cysteine, indicat- Animal Science, Lincoln myoglobin occurs before the reaction with ing that native antioxidants might influence cysteine. the reactions between nitrite and sulfur-­

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