Characterizing salt substitution in beef meat processing by vibrational spectroscopy and sensory analysis

- Effects of NaCl, KCl and MgSO4 on beef meat properties were investigated.
- FTIR protein secondary structure was correlated with NIR water vibrations by CPCA.
- MgSO4 increases hydration of proteins, while KCl decreases it.
- Due to off-taste MgSO4 needs to be used in mixture in lower portions.

In this investigation, the effect of NaCl, KCl and MgSO4 on bovine meat was studied, where the salts were used in standard marinades in 5.5% concentration. The effect of salts on secondary structure of the myofibrillar proteins, protein-water interactions, WHC, and sensory properties of the meat was followed by carrying out FTIR and NIR measurements, cooking loss and sensory analysis. The information obtained by spectroscopic analysis was integrated by using CPCA. This revealed that MgSO4 increased ratio of α-helices and CO and NH groups (followed by FTIR) that are involved in H-bonding with surrounding water molecules (followed by NIR). This was also supported by increased WHC. Conversely, KCl reduced WHC of meat and was correlated to non-hydrogenated CO and NH groups. Furthermore, the sensory analysis confirmed that MgSO4 was acceptable only when the share of this salt in the mixture was one third.