Phosphate has the effect of maintaining the water retention of meat and improving the binding force in meat products. Meat in the process of freezing, refrigeration, thawing and heating, will lose a certain amount of water, and make the meat hardened, and lose some soluble proteins and other nutrients due to water loss.
When phosphate is added to the meat, it can improve the water holding capacity of the meat, so that the meat can still retain its moisture during processing, so that the nutrients of the meat are less lost, and the tenderness of the meat is also preserved.
At present, a total of 18 kinds of phosphates have been approved for use in China, including sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium pyrophosphate, trisodium phosphate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, sodium dihydrogen phosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, disodium pyrophosphate, etc.
Adding these substances to food contributes to the diversification of food varieties, improves its color, aroma, taste, shape, maintains the freshness and quality of food, and meets the needs of processing processes. They are important quality improvers.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" >01, the application of phosphate in meat products</h1>
1, the role in meat processing
(1) increase the pH of meat;
(2) Metal ions in chelated flesh;
(3) increase the ionic strength of the meat;
(4) Dissociation of actin.
Therefore, after the addition of phosphate, the water retention and yield of the product can be improved. However, the ability of phosphate to improve the water retention of meat and improve the texture of meat food depends on the type of phosphate applied, the conditions under which the phosphate system is applied, and the amount of phosphate added.
Image credit: pixabay
2. Application of water-retaining gel in improving muscle protein
The main and secondary factors affecting the water retention of chest muscle protein gel are: sodium pyrophosphate> sodium tripolyphosphate> sodium hexametaphosphate, and the order of factors affecting the water retention of leg protein gel is: sodium hexametaphosphate> sodium pyrophosphate> sodium tripolyphosphate.
The difference in the influence of the two muscle types is mainly due to different muscle types and different phosphate mechanisms. Experiments have shown that pyrophosphate has a significant effect on the water retention of breast meat, the reason is that pyrophosphate increases the pH value, improves the water retention of the gel through hydration, and dissociates actin as myosin and actin, and the protein molecules bind to water to improve water retention.
The effect of tripole phosphate on the water retention of leg meat protein gel is not obvious, at this time the impact of the water retention of the gel is the structure of the gel, the good water retention of the gel indicates that the network of the gel is more delicate, a large number of tiny pores are evenly distributed in the gel network, with the help of capillary force, to maintain some moisture.
In terms of the strength of the gel that is thermo-induced by muscle protein, phosphate has a reducing effect on the strength of the gel. Foreign literature reports that sodium pyrophosphate will make myosin unstable, reduce gel strength, and myofiber gel interaction, sodium tripolyphosphate will also make myosin unstable, in the application of 0.3 moles / l and 0.4 moles / L sodium chloride will improve the gel effect of myoffibrin, but at 0.6 moles / L sodium chloride will reduce the gel capacity.
Sodium hexametaphosphate has no effect on myosin denaturation, but it increases gel strength. The effect of phosphates on muscle proteins is mostly due to the changes in ionic strength and pH they bring.
3. The application in improving water retention and yield
The addition of phosphate to meat products can improve the texture of products, improve the water retention and product yield of products, improve the texture of meat food, and thus reduce the cost of products without reducing product quality.
The principle of phosphate improving the water retention of meat products is:
Trimers and pyrophosphates can increase the ionic strength of the meat system by changing the potential of the protein charge, and make it deviate from the isoelectric point, so that the charges are mutually exclusive, creating a larger space between proteins, that is, the "swelling" of proteins, so that meat tissue can contain more water and thus improve water retention;
Hexametaphosphate can chelate metal ions, reduce the binding of metal ions to water, and make proteins bind more water and improve water retention. Practice has proved that the mixed use of multiple phosphates is better than the single use, so mixed phosphates are usually used to increase the effect.
The optimal ratio of complex phosphate is 2:2:1 in most meat products (such as pork ham, beef, surimi) (sodium tripolyphosphate: sodium pyrophosphate: sodium hexametaphosphate), but the optimal amount of use varies greatly for different products, the best amount for ham is 0.4%, but for fish, the optimal amount is 0.5%;
The water retention effect of composite phosphate on surimi products is better than that of monophosphate, and the color, odor and texture of the products are better;
However, in chicken products, the optimal phosphate ratio when obtaining the maximum yield was 32.6% of sodium hexametaphosphate, 45.6% of sodium tripolyphosphate, and 21.8% of sodium pyrophosphate.
The larger the amount of compound phosphate added, the higher the yield, that is, the greater the positive effect on the water retention of the product, but when the amount is greater than 0.4% for chicken and more than 0.5% for fish, the upward trend of the product yield slows down.
4. Application in improving tenderness
Complex phosphate is alkaline, which can increase the pH of meat and promote the tendering effect of calcium-activating enzymes on meat. At the same time, the composite phosphate with more negative charge, a lower concentration of compound phosphate can significantly improve the ionic strength of the solution, so that it can chelate metal ions, such as magnesium, zinc, etc., so that the protein - COO - end is exposed, enhance the electrostatic repulsion of the meat, so that the meat relaxes, increases the tenderness of the meat.
Since the tenderness of meat is related to the content of connective tissue and myogen fibers, the more collagen crosslinking in connective tissue, the worse the tenderness of meat. After the addition of complex phosphate, the solubility of collagen can be increased, the crosslinking of collagen in connective tissue is reduced, and the tenderness of meat is improved.
Complex phosphates also dissociate actin, relieve muscle stiffness, and increase the tenderness of meat. The ratio of compound phosphate is: tripolyphosphate: pyrophosphate: hexametaphosphate - 2: 2: 1, and its addition amount is 0.5%, the tendering effect on beef and rabbit meat is the best, and it is advisable to use the method of injection and marination for 16 hours.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="33" >02, phosphate safety issues</h1>
Phosphate is an active ingredient in human tissues, such as teeth, bones and enzymes, and plays an important and indispensable role in the metabolism of important nutrients such as sugars, fats, and proteins. Therefore, phosphate is often used as a food nutrition enhancer.
However, when the diet is too much phosphate, it will reduce the absorption of calcium, resulting in the loss of calcium in human bone tissue. If it lasts for a long time, it will also cause developmental delays and skeletal deformities. Therefore, phosphate must be added and used strictly within the scope of use prescribed by the state.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="36" >03, how to use complex phosphate</h1>
A phosphate-decomposing enzyme found in meat products breaks down phosphate and makes it useless. Therefore, special attention should also be paid to the selection of appropriate process additions in the production process of meat products to avoid destroying the role of phosphate.
Generally in the production and processing of meat products, it is usually selected to use the best effect when mixing and mixing after curing; there are also methods of solution curing. At the same time, it is also considered that excessive phosphate addition will also deteriorate the flavor and color of the product, and it is not conducive to human health.
Therefore, the amount of compound phosphate taken is 0.4% for chicken and 0.5% for fish. The amount of phosphate added to meat food should be implemented in accordance with the standards promulgated by the state.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="40" >04, summary</h1>
Like other additives, quality improvers must be compounded according to a certain formula to form a compound quality improver. These quality improvers are very convenient and effective.
In the United States, carrageenan and phosphate additives have been successfully used to produce low-fat, low-salt, low-calorie and high-protein poultry foods with health effects. This additive is mainly used to maintain moisture in poultry meat, and to reduce the salt content in the product by 50% compared with the original, in addition to increasing the volume of cooked poultry products, maintaining product aroma, improving the structure, improving the cutability and other characteristics. Phosphate-ascorbic acid compound modifiers can be used to inhibit the oxidation of meat fats.
Source: Food R & D and production Finishing, please indicate the source when reprinting.
Reminder: The article is for reference only, if there is any impropriety, welcome to leave a message to correct and communicate. And the reader should not act on the content of the article without authorization in the absence of specific professional advice, and the operator shall not be responsible for the losses caused. If the article involves infringement or does not want to be published on my platform, please contact us.