Effects of soy lecithin on meat emulsion stability, moisture retention, sensory attributes, shelf life and optical properties

The goal of this research was to evaluate the applicability of soy lecithin in meat emulsions. Experiment 1 established an appropriate use level for soy lecithin in meat emulsions while Experiment 2 evaluated the functional capacity of lecithin with 15%, 30% and 45% added water. Sensory evaluation was performed in addition to moisture retention, tested by cooking, compression and vacuum purge loss. Emulsion stability was tested by uniaxial compression and differential scanning calorimetry. Shelf life was examined by color attributes, lipid oxidation, and microbiological parameters. Experiment 2 also evaluated a novel fiber optic probe on meat emulsions.;For Experiment 1, lecithin increased cooking loss (p < 0.01), and compression purge (p = 0.0382), but not vacuum purge (p = 0.3568). Added lecithin did not affect fat (p = 0.1279), moisture (p = 0.1278), or protein percentage (p = 0.1281). Calorimetry enthalpy change was not affected by treatment (p > 0.365) however peak temperature increased (p < 0.01). Fracturability and hardness increased with added lecithin (p < 0.01). Treatment decreased sensory firmness (p = 0.0155), juiciness (p < 0.01) and overall acceptability (p < 0.01) and increased off-flavor (p < 0.01).;For Experiment 2, added lecithin and water increased cooking loss, vacuum purge and compression purge (p < 0.01). For DSC, enthalpy change was not affected (p = 0.4491), however peak temperature decreased (p = 0.0057) with added water. Both fracturability (p < 0.01) and hardness (p < 0.01) decreased with added water. Sensory firmness decreased (p < 0.01) and juiciness increased (p < 0.01) with added water, however off-flavor (p = 0.2650) and overall acceptability (p = 0.4305) were not affected. APC and Listeria (p = 0.0067) was affected by treatment (p < 0.01), however Lactobacillus was not (p = 0.0766). Shelf life L* and malonaldehyde values increased with added water (p < 0.01) while a* and b* decreased (p < 0.01). Optically, backscatter at 572 nm increased and cured color ratio decreased with added water (p < 0.01). Results indicated that lecithin at low levels may have a processing benefit in the production of meat emulsions.;KEYWORDS: meat, emulsion, lecithin, moisture, optic...