Protein-Protein Interaction in Processed Meats

Functional properties of meat constituents are known to be of importance for raw meat materials carried through the manufacturing phases that result in "processed meat products." Major functional properties are: (a) water-binding ability (or water-holding capacity); (b) fat stabilization (or fat emulsification); (c) particle-to-particle binding ability (or protein gelation); and (d) the development of desirable color properties. Functional properties have been described as "measures of the descriptive actions of performance attributes" imparted from inherent and added ingredients used in the processing of meat products (Acton, 1979). The functional area of concern presented here is protein-protein interactions which occur during processing and lead to internal product structural development. Protein-protein interactions can be viewed in many different ways and certainly are used differently by muscle biologists examining self-association of myosin in thick filaments and the interactions of actin and myosin upon contraction and by meat scientists examining texture-building properties of tissue when heat processed to consumer products. Much deductive reasoning is utilized by the latter to explain how or why an occurrence is found in response to processing treatments. It is surprising how often basic research contributes to plausible extrapolations for applied meat processes. One of the best examples of protein-protein interaction involvement in meat processing has come from the relatively recent studies of "binding development" at the surface junction between meat pieces and the recognition that binding strength is dependent on the nature of the proteins lying within the junction (Theno et al., 1977; Siege1 and Schmidt, 1979; Turner et al., 1979; Solomon and Schmidt, 1980). Protein-protein interactions are also recognized as being important to processing of comminuted meat batters (Schmidt et al., 1981; Deng et al., 1976; Acton et al., 1983) where development of internal structure during heat processing contributes to textural aspects and additional stabilization