Handbook of Meat Processing

222 Chapter 11

The saturated solution of NaCl contains

26.5% NaCl (a w = 0.75). The NaCl content is

much lower in meat products; NaCl does not

separate in solid form (Krispien et al. 1979 ).

Other meat components (phosphates, amino

acids) can be crystalized by strong drying

(Zuk á l 1959 ).

The fat - free part of raw meat must contain

6.6% NaCl to reach a w = 0.95. Such product

is inedibly salty. The salty taste can be

decreased by adding fat to the mix. This

method is used when producing meat creams,

but these products are not dried. Another

method to reduce the salty taste of the end

product is to start with lower salt content

and then dry to the necessary extent. In this

case, the salty taste eases because of the

higher content of proteins and fat. This

method is used with dried meat products;

therefore, the raw material of these products

is salted or cured meat. Another benefi t of

the salt treatment is that salt swells the

meat, and so the chewiness and sliceability

of the product is improved. These are impor-

tant attributes of dried meat products.

During the planning of a w reduction, the

following factors need to be taken into

account:

also shows that the water content of raw meat
must be decreased to 40% to get an a w of
0.90.
The meat loses 60% of its original mass
during this process. This loss and the amount
of used energy is too high. In addition, the
product has a skin - like texture; the product
can become edible only by a complicated
swelling process.
That is why raw meat as such is not dried
without some supplementary treatment. Meat
powder and meat granules are produced from
cooked meat to use in soup powders, soup
insets, and feeds.
Less drying is necessary when soluble
materials are introduced into the meat. Two
materials, NaCl and sugar, can be used
because of health and organoleptic reasons.
Lower amounts of NaCl than sugar is neces-
sary for a suffi cient reduction of a w , because
of the lower particle mass of NaCl. NaCl is
used in meat products and in some sour veg-
etables, while sugar is added to fruits and
candies because of accustomed taste.
The Na+ and Cl − ions bind about two
molecules of water in solution; therefore, the
NaCl decreases the a w more than would be
expected according to Nernst law (Fig. 11.3 ).

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

NaCl content in % of the solution

aw

measured calculated by Nernst law

Figure 11.3. The a w of NaCl solutions.