Bio-field Treatment: An Effective Strategy to Improve the Quality of Beef Extract and Meat Infusion Powder

Abstract

The present research work investigated the influence of bio-field treatment on two common flavoring agents used in food industries namely beef extract powder (BEP) and meat infusion powder (MIP). The treated powders were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size analysis, surface area analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The FT-IR results showed disappearance of triglycerides peaks in both the treated powders as compared to control. XRD results corroborated the amorphous nature of both control and treated samples. The BEP showed enhanced average particle size (d 50) and d 99 (size exhibited by 99% of powder particles) by 5.7% and 16.1%, respectively as compared to control. Contrarily, the MIP showed a decreased particle size (d 50; 0.4% and d 99 ; 18.1%) as compared to control. It was assumed that enormous energy was stored in MIP after bio-field treatment that led to fracture into smaller particles. The surface area was increased in both the treated powders. DSC result showed significant increase in melting temperature, in BEP and MIP, which indicated the higher thermal stability of the samples. However, the specific heat capacity (∆H) was decreased in both samples, which was probably due to high energy state of the powders.