Effect of Chloride Salts, Acid Phosphate and Electrical Stimulation on pH and Moisture Loss from Beef Clod Muscles

Abstract

Effects of chloride salts, acid phosphate and electrical stimulation (ES) on processing properties of beef clods were determined. Ten pairs of shoulder clod muscles (right side = ES; left side = not ES) from cattle varying in maturity and live weight and representing both sexes were assigned to the following treatments: control (no additives), 2.5% NaCl, 3.18% KCl, 1.58% CaCl₂, 1.35% MgCl₂ and .5% monocalcium phosphate monohydrate (acid phosphate). Concentrations of chloride salts were selected to have ionic strengths equivalent to that of 2.5% NaCl (.628). Samples treated with monocalcium phosphate and CaCl₂ exhibited greater expressible moisture loss and moisture loss during cooking and had lower pH values (P<.05) than control samples and samples with 2.5% added NaCl. In contrast, treatment with MgCl₂ resulted in less expressible moisture loss and moisture loss during cooking than did the control and the NaCl treatments. ES decreased (P<.05) expressible moisture loss when NaCl was used, increased (P<.05) these values when CaCl₂ was used and had no effect (P>.05) on expressible moisture loss from either control clods or clods treated with KCl, MgCl₂ or monocalcium phosphate. Although moisture losses during cooking were numerically greater in five of six comparisons (ES versus not ES), these differences were not significant. ES had no effect (P>.05) on muscle pH values.