Curing of ground ham by remote infusion of atmospheric non-thermal plasma

Abstract

This study investigated the changes in the nitrite content and temperature of meat batter with the remote infusion of atmospheric non-thermal plasma (ANP) and the quality properties of ground hams cured by remote infusion of ANP. Remote infusion of ANP for 14.78 min generated 100 mg kg(-1) of nitrite in 3.2 kg meat batter, and the meat batter temperature increased from 1.8 to 9.2 degrees C. The residual nitrite content of ground ham cured by the remote infusion of ANP (RANP) was higher than that of ground ham cured with sodium nitrite (SN) at 1 day of storage (p < 0.05); however, no difference between RANP and SN was observed after 30 days of storage (p > 0.05). The color and malondialdehyde content of ground hams did not differ between RANP and SN during storage (p > 0.05). The remote infusion ANP system could be applied to cure meat products without the addition of nitrite sources.