Pressurization technique: principles and impact on quality of meat and meat products

Abstract

High-pressure processing as a unique technique of meat preservation is being widely used to preserve the meat and meat products by which a commercially feasible product’s production is possible to meet the consumer’s demand with no chemical preservatives and other harmful substances. Pressure treatment could have effects on colour, texture, protein denaturation, and meat microbial stability at ambient or low temperatures; it can help in minimizing the thermal exposure of the meat product to prevent the quality degradation, reduce microbial contamination and improve tenderness. This paper briefly reviews the attention of the high-pressure processing influence on meat product quality, namely texture, tenderness, colour, and microbial. The principles, HPP equipment, challenges, and future trends in high-pressure processing are also discussed.

Keywords

• Pressurization
• meat products
• texture
• tenderness
• colour
• microbial quality