Biomodification of Ostrich Meat Properties with Collagenase: Optimization of Technological Parameters

Domestic and international experience confirm the expediency of enzymes in meat industry. Enzymes are used for biomodification proposes when it goes about raw materials with the high-content of connective tissue, e.g. chopped semi-finished products, delicatessen, sausages, etc. Ostrich meat is an advantageous source of functional food products due to its high content of native protein, selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, and group B vitamins and low contents of cholesterol. However, a significant amount of connective tissue makes it rigid. Application of collagenase improves the functional and technological properties of minced meat and product yield. The purpose of the present research was to optimize the technological parameters of fermented ostrich minced meat by the method of multifactorial experiment planning. The ostrich thighs parts were produced on the territory of the Leningrad Region. The authors used the fractional factorial experiment to study the influence of three factors on response functions: the mass fraction of collagenase (C, the coded variable X1), the holding time (τ, the coded variable X2), and the holding temperature (t, the coded variable X3). The values of moisture-holding ability (Y1) and the content of amino nitrogen (Y2) were chosen as response functions. The study had the following parameters of fermentation at the main level and the interval of variation: C0 = 0,04%, ΔC = 0,02%; τ0 = 4 hr, Δτ = 2 hr; t0 = 12o C, Δt = 7oC. The experiment resulted in a matrix of experiment planning and several regression equations, which describe the process in question. The study revealed the optimal technological parameters of minced meat fermentation with collagenase: mass fraction of collagenase was 0.05% while the duration of exposure of minced meat was 4.5 hours at t = 13°C. These technological parameters allowed the authors to obtain minced meat with better organoleptic characteristics and functional and technological properties in comparison with those of the control sample. The obtained fermented minced meat and the selected regimes are recommended for chopped semi-finished products, cooked sausages, and meat-vegetable canned foods.