Effects of Plasma Treatment on the Sterilization and Nutritional Quality of Fresh Beef
QIU Jun, ZHAI Guozhen, SUN Yunjin
1.Beijing Laboratory for Food Quality and Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China; 2.Plasma Engineering Center, Capital Agricultural Product Safety Industrial Technology Institute, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China
Abstract:In this study, the effect of atmospheric plasma treatment on the sterilization and quality characteristics of fresh beef was addressed. The parameters investigated included water content, pH value, total bacterial count (TBC), thiobarbituric acid reactive substance value, total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) content, color parameters, free amino acid content and fatty acid content. The results indicated that plasma treatment for up to 30 s could effectively decrease the TBC, and retard lipid oxidation and the increase in TVB-N content, and significantly increase the content of some free amino acids and decrease the content of some fatty acids. Additionally, after the treatment, the color parameter L* remained unchanged while a* and b* decreased slightly. In conclusion, plasma treatment could effectively inhibit bacterial growth and lipid oxidation of fresh beef, consequently helping in prolonging the shelf life, while having no obvious effect on the nutritional quality of fresh beef.