Determination of Quality Changes throughout Processing Steps in Chinese-style Pork Jerky

Chinese-style pork jerky is a typical intermediate moisture meat product obtained by curing, drying and roasting pork samples. The chemical, physical and microbiological characteristics of pork jerky were evaluated throughout processing. The moisture content varied from 72.5% to 23.4 or 19.6% and aw varied form 0.97 to 0.74 or 0.72 in accordance with processing steps. The pork jerky roasted at 200°C had higher shear value than roasted at 150°C because the moisture content and aw of the former sample was lower than the later sample. The nitrite losses during whole processing steps amount to nearly 50%. The TBA value of pork jerky varied from 0.34 to 9.25 or 9.83 mg of malonaldehyde depended on processing steps. The VBN value of pork jerky ranging from 0.25 to 22.4 or 23.5 mg/kg depended upon processing steps. The ATPase activity of myofibrillar proteins during processing steps were partly or entirely denatured by the heat-drying or heat-roasting treatment. A gradual decrease in microorganism count during processing of pork jerky was also observed. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2004. Vol 17, No. 5 : 700-704)