Effects of Non-meat Protein Binders and Acidification on the Efficiency of Cold-Set Pork Restructuring by High Pressure

We investigated the effects of non-meat protein binders combined with glucono-&-lactone (GdL) on the binding properties regarding restructured pork prepared by high-pressure treatment. Soy protein isolate (SPI), casein (CS), whey protein concentrate (WPC), and egg white (EW) were used as non-meat protein binders and compared with the control (no binder) and with the x-carrageenan (KC) treatment. The compression and depression rates were 2.3 and 37MPa/s, respectively, and pressurization was conducted at 200MPa for 30 min at 4oC. After pressurization, the physical properties (pH, water-holding capacity, color, tensile strength, and microscopic structure) of the sample were evaluated. The combination of pressurization with acidification enabled cold-set meat binding, and the binding strength of restructured pork was enhanced by the addition of non-meat proteins. Among binders, SPI demonstrated the best efficiency in binding meat pieces. Therefore, the present study demonstrated that the combination of acidification and pressurization processes with the utilization of non-meat protein binders has a potential benefit in meat restructuring.