•  
  •  
 

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

mechanical tenderization, internal cooked color, beef steak, beef eye, rough stake, tenderized meat

College

Life Sciences

Department

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of mechanical tenderization on the internal cooked color of beef steak, and specifically to determine if it exhibits premature browning during cooking because of the mechanical tenderization. The microbiological safety of mechanically tenderized meat has been questioned due to its implication in six recent outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7. Current research suggests that tenderization may increase the risk of internal penetration and cross-contamination of E. coli. Consumer evaluation of prematurely browned meat would lead to undercooking; increasing the risks associated with consuming contaminated meat. In this study, beef steaks were mechanically tenderized by either blade tenderization (BT), high pressure liquid jets (HP), needle injection (NI), or left as an untreated control (UN). The methodology used in this experiment is outlined below (Figure 1).

Download

Included in

Nutrition Commons

Share

COinS