HANOI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AND FOOD TECHNOLOGY

Department of Food technology

Experiments

Course name: Specialized projects to Food Technology

MEAT AND MEAT PROCESSING

 Practice 1 – Canned/Block Pâté Production

I.Procedure:
Flow chart:

Frozen meat Liver

Thawing Thawing

Dry onion Cleaning Cleaning

Cleaning Cutting Cutting Sub-

ingredient
Blanching Other ingredients Curing

Grinding
Blending Stir-frying

Lard Slicing Filling in tray

Steaming/sterilization
 Storage

Remove from tray

Packaging

Block pâté

Technological process:
Fresh meat: Class II meat (shoulder, belly) is main ingredient to produce pâté.

Ingredients: for 4kg pâté

Main ingredients
- Meat: 45% = 1.8kg Other ingredients
- Liver: 20% = 0.8kg - Salt: 1.2% = 0.048kg
- Lard: 10% = 0.4kg - Sugar: 0.3% = 0.012 kg
- Eggs: 6% = 0.24kg - MSG: 0.3% = 0.012 kg
- Flour: 4% = 0.16kg - Pepper powder: 0.3% = 0.012 kg
- Dry onions: 5% = 0.2kg - Garlic powder: 0.2% = 0.008 kg
- Blanching water: 10% = 0.4kg - Spicy: 0.1% = 0.004 kg

*Thawing meat, liver:

Frozen meat and liver have to be thawed before production. Thawing aims to restore
the natural properties of liver and meat, and create a suitable temperature for further
process.
Thawing meat: Use air with temperature from 16-20 oC, humidity from 55-60% for
610 hours (for 7-10kg meat block). The thawing step ends when the center temperature of
the meat reaches ± 1oC. The meat surface should be dry, no excess water.
Thawing liver: Frozen liver is thawed in water. The ratio between water and liver is
1.5:1. Water temperature is < 15-20 oC, thawing time is 40-50 minutes. At the end of the
thawing process, the center temperature reaches 5oC and the liver is slightly soft.
1.Cleaning:
Objective: Remove slime, hair and blood clots on the surface of raw materials to
ensure the meat meet processing standards.
 Meat is washed under clean running water, then use sharp knife to remove bruises,
hematomas, and cartilage tendons.
The liver is separated from all white veins, liver stalks and bile ducts, and stagnant
blood. Remove the dark parts or seep the yellow-green bile. The liver is then rinsed with
clean water.
Clean onions: Peel off the outer skin of onions, remove stems and roots and wash.
Eggs are cleaned and shelled before being processed.

2.Cutting:
Reduce the size meat, fat, and liver to facilitate the marinating and grinding process.
The dimension of cube meat is 3 x 3 x 3 cm and liver is 3 x 3 x 1 cm
3. Blanching:
Objective: change the mechanical properties to facilitate the cutting, grinding and
mincing process due to product requirements of high fineness. At the same time, the
blanching process aims to remove air in the intercellular spaces to avoid the physical
swelling when pasteurized canned meat at high temperatures.
Meat is blanched in boiling water for 5-7 minutes. Meat must be 50% cooked after
blanching.

4.Marinating liver:
Cut liver is marinated with sugar, salt, sodium nitrite, pepper, and five spice
powder. The ratio of these components depends on the ingredient mixing formula for
each batch of product. The required time of marinating is about 30 minutes at room
temperature, or 24 hours at 0oC.
Objective: Create an unique flavor and color for the product. At the same time, the
marinating process partly involves lactic fermentation to adjust the taste and color of the
product.

5.Stir-fry the liver:

Aim: reduce the fishy taste of the liver
Stir-frying the liver and oil at the same time from the moment it cools so that the
liver does not overcook and does not create a hard crust when blending.
*Grinding:
The ingredients of meat, liver and dried onions all go through the grinding process.
Grinding creates conditions for mixing the components evenly.
Requires particle size after grinding to be f = 3-4mm.
 6.Blending:
Aims:
- Change the structural state of the meat, liver and other ingredients, increase
the contact area of them, the osmosis process occurs thoroughly.
- Creating a stable gel system between the material components in the pâté,
making them more evenly distributed.
After blending the meat, liver, onions, eggs and flour are mixed in a mincing mixer
or bowl cutter. Until the semi-final product in paste structure

7.Filling in tray and steaming/sterilization:

After mincing, the mixture is put into an aluminum mold (1kg/mold) lined below
and around with a layer of thinly sliced fat. This help to easily take the product out and
gives the product a beautiful appearance. Then the molds are steamed. The purpose of the
steaming process is to change the physical and mechanical properties of the product,
increase sensory value and kill microorganisms while ripening the product. Perform the
steaming process in the mode:
A - 60 - B or: A - 80 - B
121oC 121oC
Products often swell after steaming due to changes in physical and chemical properties
during the steaming process. The pâté is cooled and stored for 12-24 hours to stabilize the
structure, then removed from the mold and packaged. Pate can be used immediately or
stored at 0-4oC for a shelf life of 7 days.

II.Result:
Comparision the final product with commercial products ( Pate Cột Đèn Hải Phòng
Hạ Long, Pate gan heo Hạ Long )

Pate Cột Đèn Hải Phòng Hạ Long

Ingredients:
Lard, water, pork, pork liver, purple onion, flavor enhancer (451i), garlic, wheat flour,
vegetable fat cream powder, pork powder, white pepper, sugar, yeast extract, salt,
flavoring agent Synthetic color (127), color retention agent (250).
Sensory assessment:
Dark brown, smooth, high moisture, quite oily, easy to spread
Taste: greasy, balanced flavor, quite salty
Pate gan heo Hạ Long
Ingredients:
Pork, water, pork liver (21%), onion, flour, cloves, salt, thickener (1442), flavor
enhancer (621), stabilizer (451i), pepper, sugar, stabilizer color (250), synthetic food
color (127).
Sensory assessment:
Pinky, dry and water content balanced, smooth, easy to spread
Taste: balanced flavor

Final experiment product:

Ingredients:
Meat 45%, Liver 20%, Lard 10%, Eggs 6%, Flour 4%,Dry onions 5%, water 10%,
Salt 1.2%, Sugar: 0.3%, MSG: 0.3%, Pepper powder: 0.3%, Garlic powder: 0.2%,
Spicy: 0.1%
Sensory assessment:
Grey- brown color, can see the meat texture, drier, harder to spread
Taste: greasier, saltier, spicy flavor ( five spice powder ) cleary

Conclusion:
- Commercial products using synthetic color make products rised in sensory, while
experiment products have a natural color.
- In general, commercial products have a better texture and balance in flavor because
uneven blending process of experiment
 Practice 2: Vietnamese sausage (Giò lụa) production
I. Procedure:
Flow chart
 Frozen lean and fat

Thawing
G

Saw

Grinding

Sub-ingredients: sugar, Blending and

salt, fish sauce, STTP, emulsification
modified starch , ..

Stuffing in mold

Steaming

Cooling

Product

Flow chart of Vietnamese sausage (giò lụa) from frozen meat

Technological process explanation

(in 1kg product)
1) Ingredient:
Main ingredient:
- Frozen lean (lean shoulder, lean rump, tenderloin). Frozen meat meeting
TCVN 7047:2020 are used, including sensory, physical, chemical and
microbiological criteria. The center temperature of meat is lower than -12 oC and
stored in freezer room with a temperature of -18 oC – 12oC. Frozen meat is thawed
 with air at temperature 16-20oC, humidity 55-60%, and thaw until the core
temperature is -3 to -5oC.
- Frozen fat: use back fat, thigh fat, belly fat. Fat is taken from healthy pigs,
slaughtered to ensure hygiene, and frozen properly. The product's core reaches -12 oC,
ivory white color, free of lean meat and impurities, meets sensory, physical, chemical
and microbiological criteria.
Composition:
- Meat: 85% = 850g
- Lard: 15% = 150g
Other ingredients: divided into 4 types
Flake ice is produced from drinking water, ensuring microbial, hardness, and physical and
chemical criteria.
STPP (sodium tripolyphosphate), modified starch, MSG, sugar, fish sauce, and salt must
be pure without impurities.
Type 1: - Salt: 1%
Type 2: - Flake ice: 10% = 100g
- Sugar: 0.2% = 2g
- MSG: 0.3% = 3g
- Fish sauce: 2% = 20g
- Salt: 1% = 10g
- Phosphate K70: 0.3% = 3g
- Modified starch: 3% = 30g
Type 3: - Salt: 1%
- Phosphate mix: 0.3%
- MSG: 3%
Type 4: - Salt: 1%
- Nonphos: 1%
- Modified starch: 3%
2) Saw/cutting: Cut meat and fat into small pieces of 5x5x5cm, convenient for grinding.
3) Grinding:
Aims: Reduce the meat dimension and facilitate fine grinding.
Use grinding machine. After grinding, meat dimension is smaller than 2mm
4.Blending and emulsification:
Aims:
- Change the structural state of the meat, lard and other ingredients, increase the contact
area of them, the osmosis process occurs thoroughly.
- Reduces the size of the meat particles to achieve a very fine texture.
First, put the lean meat, salt, phosphate and 1/3 of the ice flakes into the bowl of the bowl
cutter. Start the machine, then mix for 5 minutes. Next, add the modified starch, sugar,
2/3 of the remaining flaked ice, fish sauce and finally add the remaining spices and
additives to blend for 10 minutes.
Requirement: Operating room temperature: 10-12oC. to ensure that the emulsion mass
after mincing is about 9-10oC. Size of grain: 0.2-0.5mm.
5) Stuffing in mold: There are many methods of stuffing Vietnamese sausage:
- Use mold made of aluminum outside and propylene inside
with 3 mold sizes (250g, 500g, 1kg )
- wrap inside with banana leaves and outside with propylene. -
Stuffing with stuffing machine with propylene packaging 7)
6. Heating (boiling/steaming):
Objective: change the physical and chemical properties of the ingredients, increase
sensory value, kill microorganisms, cook the ingredients, and fix the shape of the
ingredients.
Use amount of water that can covers the sausage, put the Vietnamese sausage into the pot
and gradually raise the water temperature to 80-85 oC and keep that temperature. Measure
the product's center temperature until it reaches 70 oC and keep it at this temperature for
510 minutes depending on the size and weight of “giò lụa”.
- 250g: 30-35 minutes
- 500g: 45 minutes
- 1kg: 60 minutes
7) Cooling:
Aims
- Reduce the product temperature to the required temperature to facilitate the packaging
and cooling stages.
- Avoid evaporating, which causes loss of product volume.
- Avoid deformation due to shrinking cover.
- Stabilize the structure, enhance the toughness, plasticity, and elasticity of the product.
After the ingredients are cooked and fixed in shape, take the product out of the mold and
perform the cooling process to stabilize the structure and flavor. Cooling is done in rooms
0-4oC or cooled immediately at room temperature.
Maintain the product in appropriate conditions to extend the product's shelf life. Store at
4oC for up to 30 days.

II.Result:
Sensory assessment for 4 types of experiment products:
Color:
Type 1 darkest color, which is more green-ish.
Type 2 and 3 have similar color, paler than type 1
Type 4 is the palest, which is white-beige.

State (firmness, elasticity)

All 4 types passed elasticity test.
Type 1: driest, friable, fibred, uncertain, high amount of air bubbles
type 2 and 3: firm, elasticity, stable
type 4: has a quite different texture, elasticity, firm and softer, more chewy than other
types.

Taste:
1: tart, salty
2 and 3: fish sauce flavor balanced, tasty.
4: has a specific flavor and after-tasted

Conclusion:
- By increasing water holding capacity, phosphate salts form a 3 dimensional network in
gel protein ( Vietnamese sausage ) so that

Practice 3- Evaluation the quality of meat and meat products

I.Procedure:
Divided into 2 parts: raw materials and Vietnamese sausages
Raw material quality: poultry, pork, beef
- Sensory
- pH
- WHC
-Thear force

Vietnamese sausages: with 4 tested samples from the last experiment and 2 compared
samples (market product and commercial product: Giò lụa Meat Deli)
- Sensory
- Gel strength
-WHC
- Borax

1. Sensory evaluation of meat products

Evaluation method: description (profile) of product characteristics using groups of
criteria such as color, shape, structure and taste. For each product, specific characteristics
are given to match and compare with market products.
- With Vietnamese sausage products:
+ Color: the characteristic of silk rolls is light to very light pink
+ shape: smooth surface, smooth cross-section with small to large air holes
+ structure: elastic gel (brittle and elastic), flexible, to inelastic, friable, very friable +
taste: typical delicious aroma (fragrant meat, clear smell of fish sauce, spices...), sweet
meat taste, no strange flavors
- With raw materials: (TCVN 7046:2019)
+ Color: identical to each product
+ Texture: has elasticity, after pressing the finger into the meat; it does not leave a mark
on the surface of the meat.
+ Surface: dry, clean, free of hair and impurities, smooth cutting surface
+ Smell: identical to each product identical to each product
- With pate products:
+ color: from light brown to dark brown, pink red brown...
+ shape: square pate block, smooth surface
+ texture: soft, smooth, spreadable on bread, smooth cut surface
+ taste: typical delicious aroma of spices (garlic, basil, pepper...) and typical aroma of
meat and liver, typical sweetness of meat, liver...
2. Determination pH of meat ingredients
Determination pH by direct measurement method (TCVN 4835: 2002)
• Principle
 The pH value is determined through measuring the potential difference between a
glass electrode and a reference electrode placed in the meat sample.
• Method
Choose a representative location for the test sample to measure pH for beef, pork,
and chicken samples.
Use buffer solutions with pH = 4 and pH = 7 to calibrate the pH meter. During the
calibration process, the buffer solution must be stirred with a magnetic stirrer.
Use a sharp knife to cut or punch a hole in the sample to a size that fits the
electrode when placed.
Measure the pH using the appropriate procedure for the pH meter. Read the pH
value directly on the measuring instrument, accurate to 0.01 pH unit when reaching a
constant value.
Repeat the measurement on the same original measurement location to check for
measurement errors.
Repeat measurements at 3 different points when it is necessary to determine pH
differences at different points of the sample.
• How to calculate results
Take the result as the arithmetic average of three measured pH values at each
measurement location. Read the average pH value at each measuring location, accurate to
0.05 pH units.
When performing measurements at many different locations of the sample, it is
necessary to map and record the measurement points along with the corresponding
average pH values measured.
1.2 Determine pH by indirect measurement method
Weigh 25 g of meat (meat product) thoroughly ground with 50 ml of distilled
water into a 250 ml glass cup, rinse with 50 ml of distilled water. Plug the pH electrode
into the above solution mixture and read the results as described above.
Record the measured pH value on the meter.
Comparison the measurement results of these 2 methods and make a
preliminary assessment of the quality of meat materials
3. Measurement cutting force (gram) by BLADE SET WITH WARNER
BRATZLER (HDP/BSW) probes for hog dogs, sausages, salami... and raw meat
Warner-Bratzler blade
The Warner Bratzler blade set includes a reversible blade, a base and a groove. The
reversible blade can be a blade with a flat bottom edge or a blade with two cutting edges
that create an angle of 60oC with each other.
Select the parameters on the TA.HD Plus structure measuring machine as below:
Setting
- Measurement type: Measurement of compression force
- Option: return to original position
- Speed before measurement: 2 mm/s
- Measurement speed: 2 mm/s
- Speed after measurement: 10 mm/s
- Distance: 30mm
- Trigger type: Automatic
- Tare type: automatic
- Data reading speed: 200pps
Sample preparation: the sample is removed from the packaging and kept at a temperature
of 5oC
Once the impact force is achieved, the blade proceeds to cut through the sample.
Maximum force at the moment when the sample completely fills the triangular cavity of
the blade and cuts through the sample surface. After this point continue cutting
throughout the entire pattern until the blade passes through the gap in the base. The blade
then returns to its starting position. The results of cutting force assessment of hog
dogs/sausages products are shown below:

Figure 4: Warner-Bratzler blade to measure cuting force

4.Determination the water holding capacity (WHC) of meat

Principle
Based on the ability of meat to retain water when affected by mechanical pressure of the
water holding capacity device.
Method
The WHC measurement method was carried out according to Grau-Hamm (1956), and
modified by Hoffman (1982).
Place a piece of meat weighing 300 ± 5 mg on dehumidified Whatman No. 1 filter paper
(7cm diameter). Measure the weight of the filter paper to the nearest 0.0001g, then place
the meat in the middle of the filter paper. Paper with meat is placed between 2 plastic
sheets and a load of 1 kg, 2.25 kg is applied to the meat for 5 minutes. When the meat is
pressed, the liquid is absorbed by the filter paper around the meat sample forming an
outer ring region (T). The meat circle (M) and the released water (T) are measured (to the
nearest mm) and the damp paper is weighed quickly after removing the compressed meat.
The area of the fluid ring is proportional to the amount of loosely water in the meat and
inversely proportional to the water-holding capacity of the meat.

Cut a small square of meat ( approximately 1cm 2 ) and put it in the middle of filter paper
(7cm diameter), then cover it with another filter paper. Papers with meat are placed in
Petri dish and put a 2kg weight above them for 5 minutes

Device to measure WHC

• How to calculate results : counting mm2 on grid paper (M/T R)

WHC is expressed as a percentage of RW = release water (Grau and Hamm, 1956) RW =

(mass of wet filter paper after pressing – mass of dry filter paper)/mass of meat sample x
100%
WHC can also be expressed through the M/T ratio (Hofmann, Hamm, & Blüchel (1982)).
The area of flesh stains (M) and slick spots (T) were measured using three methods:
- by ruler (M/T P)
- counting mm2 on grid paper (M/T R)
- Press the piece of paper onto a thin plastic sheet, sketch the T and M areas, cut the
plastic according to the T and M areas and weigh the plastic (1mg corresponds to 7mm2
for the plastic sheet used) (M/T A)
The water retention capacity in each case was estimated as the M/T ratio.
Meat with high WHC will correspond to a small RW and a large M/T.
5. Evaluate gel strength and firmness of sausage products using Texture Analyzer
TA.XT Plus:
Measure Compress force (Compression force to evaluate gel strength) with
SPHERRICAL Stainless probe 5mm (P/5S) - Unit of measurement (gram force) for
products such as sausages, sausages, surimi... Spherical probes

Fig 1: Types of spherical probes Sample preparation:

Cut samples with a constant diameter, for example 32mm diameter, 25mm height. Select
the parameters on the TA.HD Plus structure measuring machine as below:
Setting
- Measurement type: Measurement of compression force
- Option: return to original position
- Speed before measurement: 1 mm/s
- Measurement speed: 1.1mm/s
- Speed after measurement: 10 mm/s
- Distance: 15mm
- Trigger type: Automatic 10g
- Tare type: automatic
The results of evaluating the firmness and gel strength of surimi, sausage are shown in the
following figure:

Figure 2. Curves representing the structural breaking forces (firmness) of different surimi
samples at 5oC

Figure 3. Gel strength of surimi/sausage is (Breaking force * breaking distance) g.cm

6. QUALITATIVE AND SEMI-QUATANTITIAL SODIUM BORATE AND
BORIC ACID (BORAX) IN VIETNAMESE SAUSAGE
Principle
The food sample is acidified with hydrochloric acid, then heated in a water bath. Boric
acid (H3BO3) or sodium borate (Na2B4O7) was detected using turmeric paper. When
boric acid or sodium borate is present, turmeric paper turns from yellow to orange-red.
This turmeric paper will turn dark green in an alkaline environment and turn pink-red in
an acidic environment.
Use the borax quick test KIT (according to the instructions for use).
Conducted testing on 02 commercial Vietnamese sausage samples and 01 sample made at
the laboratory.

II.Result:
1.Sensory evaluation:
Vienamese sausages:
All samples pass the folding test
- Market sample: ivory-white; solid, elasticity, chewy, high amount of air bubbles, could
see the meat fibre, pig fur in product
- Meat Deli sample: light pink; less chewy than market sample, elasticity, small air
bubbles in low concentration
- Type 1: darkest color, light green brown; driest, friable, fibred, uncertain, high amount
of air bubbles; tart, salty
- Type 2: paler than type 1; firm, elasticity, stable; fish sauce flavor balanced, tasty
- Type 3: similar type 2
- Type 4: is the palest (white-beige); has a quite different texture, elasticity, firm and
softer, more chewy than other types; has a specific flavor and after-tasted, sweet

Raw material:
- Pork: has specific natural color (type1: pink brown); elasticity, rigid; don’t have
oxidized smell, fresh
- Beef: has specific natural color ( dark red ); elasticity, could feel the muscle fibers; don’t
have oxidized smell
- Chicken: light yellow, shine; elasticity, more rigid than the other two, wet surface; don’t
have oxidized smell

2. Determination pH of meat ingredients

Raw material:
- Pork: 5.81 – 5.83 – 5.88
- Beef: 5.65 – 5.63 – 5.87
- Chicken: 5.87 – 5.88 – 5.91
Increasing pH order: Beef – Pork - Chicken

3.Measurement cutting force (gram) by BLADE SET WITH WARNER

The measurement machine is accidently broken so we can’t do this experiment process.


4.Determination the water holding capacity (WHC) ( image )

Vienamese sausages:
- Market sample: M = 175 mm2, T = 247 mm2, WHC = 175/247=0.709
- Meat Deli sample: M = 197 mm2, T = 278 mm2, WHC = 197/278=0.709
- Type 1: M = 117 mm2, T = 543 mm2, WHC = 117/543 = 0.215
- Type 2: M = 275 mm2, T = 295 mm2, WHC = 275/295 = 0.932
- Type 3: M = 187 mm2, T = 417 mm2, WHC = 187/417 = 0.448
- Type 4: M = 134 mm2, T = 210 mm2, WHC = 134/210 = 0.638

Raw material:
- Pork: M = 310 mm2, T = 211 mm2, WHC = 310/211 = 1.469
- Beef: M = 266 mm2, T = 42 mm2, WHC = 226/42 = 5.381
- Chicken: M = 329 mm2, T = 486 mm2, WHC = 329/486 = 0.677

5. Evaluate gel strength and firmness of sausage products using Texture Analyzer
TA.XT Plus: ( Vietnamese sausage )
- Market sample: F = 757.7g, d = 16.908mm , t = 7.370s
- Meat Deli sample: F = 471.9g, d = 16.394mm , t = 5.565s
- Type 1: F = 558.5g, d = 18.040mm , t = 4.905s
- Type 2: F = 675.6g, d = 14.672mm, t = 5.335s
- Type 3: F = 556.1g, d = 14.617mm, t = 5.115s
- Type 4: F = 380.6g, d = 15.722mm, t = 5.460s
Conclusion: Gel strength of Meat Deli sample and type 4 is lower than 500, which is not
so good

6. QUALITATIVE AND SEMI-QUATANTITIAL SODIUM BORATE AND

BORIC ACID (BORAX) IN VIETNAMESE SAUSAGE ( image )
Conclusion : The turmeric paper of market sample has orange – red color, so borax is still
included in its composition.