Physicochemical and sensory properties of beef muscles after Pulsed Electric Field processing.

This study investigated the effects of pulsed electric field (PEF) processing on the sensory and physicochemical properties of beef biceps femoris (BF) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles. The fresh and frozen-thawed muscles were treated at an electric field strength of 0.8-1.1 kV/cm, pulse width of 20 μs, frequency of 50 Hz and specific energy of 130 kJ/kg. PEF treated samples improved meat tenderness and colour. However increased fat oxidation and increased saturated fatty acids were evident in PEF processed frozen samples. Temporal dominance of sensations results showed that although oxidation was the most dominant in temporal perception, the samples were only found to be detrimental to the sensory quality of PEF processed beef muscles stored for 7 days.