Structural and functional modification of food proteins by high power ultrasound and its application in meat processing

In the field of agricultural and food processing, high power ultrasound (HPUS) is recognized as a green, physical and non-thermal technology in improving the safety and quality of foods. The functional properties of food proteins are responsible for texture, yield and organoleptic of food products which are the theoretical basis for food processing optimizing. HPUS treatment could provide the possibility for creating novel functional properties of new foods with desirable properties due to the modification of protein structure. In this article, an overview of the previous studies and recent progress of the relationship between structure modification and functional properties of food proteins using the HPUS technique were presented. The research results revealed that HPUS could significantly affect the conformation and structure of protein due to the cavitation effect resulting in the improvement of solubility, interfacial, viscosity, gelation and flavor binding properties of proteins. During meat processing, HPUS can modify the structure and thereby improve the functional properties of myofibrillar protein (MP), leading to the quality enhancement, low fat and/or salt products development and the shelf life extending. In view of this review, the recent findings of applications of HPUS in the production of meat products based on the modification of MP including curing, freezing/thawing and thermal processing have been summarized. Finally, the future considerations were presented in order to facilitate the progress of HPUS in meat industry and provided the suggestions based on the advanced protein modification by HPUS for the commercial utilization of HPUS in producing the innovative meat products.