Application of acid whey and set milk to marinate beef with reference to quality parameters and product safety.

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential of acid whey and set milk as a marinade in the traditional production of fermented eye round.

Methods: Studies involved assaying pH value, water activity (aw), oxidation-reduction potential and TBARS value, colour parameters in CIE system (L*, a*, b*), assaying the number of lactic acid bacteria and certain pathogenic bacteria after ripening process and after 60-day storing in cold storage. Sensory analysis and analysis of the fatty acids profile were performed after completion of the ripening process.

Results: Analysis of pH value in the products revealed that application of acid whey to marinate beef resulted in increased acidity of ripening eye round (5.14). The highest value of the colour parameter a* after ripening process and during storage was observed in sample AW (12.76 and 10.07 respectively), the lowest on the other hand was observed in sample SM (10.06 and 7.88 respectively). The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was higher in eye round marinated in acid whey by approx. 4% in comparison to other samples.

Conclusions: Application of acid whey to marinade beef resulted in increased share of red colour in general colour tone as well as increased oxidative stability of the product during storage. It also increased the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the product. All model products had high content of lactic acid bacteria and there were no pathogenic bacteria such as: L. monocytogenes, Y. enterocolitica, S. aureus, Clostridium sp.