PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MALAYSIAN COMMERCIAL BEEF FRANKFURTER Nurul Huda, Noryati Ismail and Alistair Tang Lik Jean

School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11700 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia ABSTRACT Five brands of Malaysian commercial beef frankfurter were analyzed for physicochemical properties. The main ingredient of beef frankfurter was beef meat and two type of fat source was used there are beef fat and vegetable oil. Binder and extender were popularly used in the formulation of beef frankfurter, such as soy protein, potato starch and modified corn starch. The proximate contents were significant difference among samples. The range of moisture content was 63.0-73.9%, protein content was 10.63-16.43% while fat content was 1.71-12.22%. The lightness value (L*) of raw sausage was significantly different among the samples in the range of 47.02-52.28. The lightness of cooked frankfurters was had a decrease in all samples in the range of 39.72 - 46.20. No significance different was showed in folding test. Folding test scores of beef frankfurters were in a range of 4.40 to 5.00. All samples showed no crack after folding in half. However significance difference was showed in texture analysis. The hardness, cohesiveness, chewiness, springiness, gumminess and shear force ranged between 4.59-10.30kg, 0.26-0.35, 16.1551.72kgmm, 12.73-14.79mm, 1.17-3.49 and 1.67-7.08kg. The research result shows those Malaysian commercial beef frankfurters are significantly different in their physicochemical properties. Key words: Processed physicochemical propersties meat, beef frankfurter, proximate composition,

1. INTRODUCTION
About one-third of all meat is processed, meaning it has been changed from its original fresh cut. Ham and sausage are the most popular processed meat products (Brown, 2004). Sausages are made from chopped or comminuted lean meat and fat, mixed with salt, spices and other ingredients, and then filled into a casing, made of animal intestine or cellulose. Frankfurter or hot dog is a type of fully-cooked, cured and/or smoked moist sausage. These products are popular among consumers and sold in large quantities in many countries. Currently, there are many varieties of frankfurters available in the Malaysian market, mainly produced from chicken, beef or fish. In the past, sausages production originated from small family-based enterprises. However, increasing demand for sausages products in recent year have changed the sausages manufacturing into large-scale production. Many factories have been developed in Malaysia to increase output and to fulfill the increasing demand for sausages in the country. Due to the

increasing competition among manufacturers, more advanced technologies have been imported from other countries and fully-automated machineries have been invested to produce high quality products. This study was carried out to determine the physicochemical properties associated with beef frankfurters available in Malaysian markets currently.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sampling Five frozen commercial beef frankfurters (A - E) from different brands or manufacturers were collected from supermarkets located in Penang, Northern part of Malaysia. Two packets of each brand were by thowed at room temperature for about 4 hours and cooked in the boiling water (95o C) for 5 minutes. Proximate analysis The proximate composition was determined according to the AOAC (1990) methods. Moisture content was determined by drying samples overnight at 105 oC until constant weight was achieved (Memmert UL 40, Germany). Crude protein content was determined using the Kjeldahl method (Kjeltec System 1002, Sweden). Crude lipid content was determined using the Soxhlet method. Ash content was determined by ashing samples overnight at 550 oC (Thermolyne Sybranm model: 6000, USA). Carbohydrate content was calculated by difference. Colour The colour of beef frankfurters samples was measured using a colourimeter (Minolta spectrophotometer CM 3500d, Japan). The colour reading includes lightness (L), redness (a) and yellowness (b). The equipment was standardized with a white colour standard. The mean of five measurements was taken for each L, a and b values. Cooking yield Cooking yield was determined according to Serdarolu (2006). Weights of the individual frankfurters were taken before and after cooking. The mean of five measurements was taken for each test. Calculation of cooking yield is was below. % Cooking yield = _Cooked frankfurters weight (g)_ x 100 Uncooked frankfurters weight (g) Folding test Folding test was carried out according to Lanier (1992). Test specimen was prepared by cutting cooked frankfurters into 3mm thickness. The test specimen was held between thumb and forefinger to observe the way it broke and was then evaluated according to the following scale: 1 for breaks by finger pressure; 2 for cracks immediately when folded into half; 3 for cracks gradually when folded into half; 4 for no crack shown after folding in half and 5 for no crack shown after folding twice). The mean of five measurements was calculated.

Texture Analysis Texture measurement of frankfurters was conducted using a computer-assisted TA-XT2i Texture Analyzer (Stable Micro Systems, UK). Two types of test were carried out in order to compare the texture profile of the frankfurters. Firstly a compression test was used to determine hardness, cohesiveness, chewiness, springiness and gumminess and secondly using a knife blade to determine the shear force required to cut through the sample. Data processing All data obtained from analysis were analyzed by SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) software version 12.0 (SPSS Inc. Illinois, USA). Duncan test was employed to determine the significant level at P < 0.05.

3. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

General information of beef frankfurters marketed in Malaysia The main ingredient of beef sausage was beef meat. Different types was of fat was used in various formulations. In sample B, vegetable oil or cooking oil was added while beef fat were added in formulation D and E. The use of triphosphates (E451) and polyphosphates (E452) in sample A was to improve the water binding ability and its antioxidative properties protect and stabilize the flavour and colour of the finished product (Romans, Jones, Costello, Carlson and Ziegler, 1985). However, its usage was limited to 0.3% (Malaysian Food Regulation 1985) as a food conditioner. Curing agent was added in the form of sodium nitrite (E250) and potassium nitrate (E252) in sample A and C. According to Malaysia Food Regulation 1985, a total of not more than 200ppm of total nitrate and nitrite is allowed in the final product. However the information for the amount of nitrite in each sample was not available. Binder and extender were popularly used in the formulation of beef frankfurters, such as soy protein (sample A and C), vegetable protein (sample D), potato starch (sample E) and modified corn starch (sample A). In this case, the usage of these ingredients was limited to 2% for soy protein and 3.5% for soy and cereal flour in United State. However, there was no such restriction stated in Malaysian Food Regulation 1985. All samples added with spice was referred to as natural source while flavouring was referred to an extract such as protein hydrolysate in the formulation of sample B. Chicken stock added in sample E was believed to produce the barbecue flavour, together with its spice blend. Salt was added in all samples to act as a preservative and as flavour enhancer and water binder. Sugars were added in some of the samples too. Proximate composition Proximate composition for beef frankfurter was shown in Table 1. Beef frankfurters showed significant difference (P<0.05) in all the proximate composition among samples. The wide range of proximate compositions among samples correlated to different sources of raw materials and formulation used. According to Malaysian Food Regulation 1985, meat in manufactured meat such as frankfurters should not be less than 65%. As a major ingredient in frankfurter, the percentage of meats in samples was unidentified because no such information was available. The lower protein content may be due to lower meat content which has substituted by

starch in order to produce a lower cost sausage, while still maintain the texture and water holding capacity, (Romans et al., 1985). Overall, the fat content of samples were quite low, while the most, which is sample E, was just 12.2% compared with the maximum fat content in meat product allowed by Malaysian Food Regulation 1985, which is 30%. The result had shown a trend of consumers perception on the bad effect of cholesterol towards health. Some formulation had included vegetable oil or fats in order to reduce cholesterol in the samples by replacing fat and lean meat as vegetable materials contain no cholesterol (Colmenero, Carballo and Cofrades, 2001). Table 1. Proximate Composition ff Beef Frankfurters
Sample A B C D E Moisture % 68.49 0.25 63.66b 0.11 73.90d 0.09 63.80b 0.15 63.00a 0.05
c

Protein % 16.43 0.37 14.58b 0.20 10.63a 0.66 11.18a 0.47 15.73c 0.36
c

Fat % 1.71 0.10 5.59c 0.15 1.10a 0.23 8.04d 0.48 12.22e 0.47
b

Ash % 3.29 0.29 2.57b 0.09 2.05a 0.06 3.04c 0.04 2.28ab 0.21
c

CHO % 10.08b 0.12 13.51d 0.41 12.32c 0.43 13.92d 0.62 6.79a 0.86

Means within a column with different letters are significant different (P<0.05) Cooking yield There was significant difference (P<0.05) in the result of cooking yield among the beef frankfurter samples (A=98.71b 1.77; B=101.22b 0.96; C=90.54a 1.72; D=100.58b 2.24 and E=90.89a 1.05). Cooking yield depends on the stability of the protein matrix to immobilize both fat and water. Increasing both the moisture and fat reduces the cooking yield (Claus, Hunt and Kastner, 1989) as shown by samples A, C and D. Addition of binder or extender, salt, polyphosphate, Ca2+ and whey protein in the sausage will improve the water holding capacity and increase the cooking yield (Hayes, Desmond, Troy, Buckley and Mehra, 2005). Colour (raw and cooked) Table 2 showed the colour of beef frankfurters. The ranges of colour values in raw frankfurters were: lightness 47.02-52.28, redness 8.04-21.97 and yellowness 19.33-23.1. After cooking, beef frankfurters tended to become darker and showed less redness. Lightness is a main attribute which is correlated well with consumer acceptability. According to Dingstad, Kubberda, Nsa, and Egelandsdal (2005), at least 60% of the consumers was willing to buy the sausage when L* was between 62.3 and 68.5. Result showed that most of the samples do not reach the desirable lightness, even became darker after cooking. Source of meat may have different effect on colour. According to Jo, Lee and Ahn (1999), pork sausages with high fat produced lighter color than low-fat sausages. The low fat content of beef sausage samples may be correlated to the low L* value, base on this statement.

Table 2. Colour Value of Beef Frankfurters a* b* Raw A 47.02 a 0.65 21.97 d 0.37 20.97 b 0.24 B 51.54 c 0.08 14.32 b 0.35 19.90 a 0.44 b a C 50.03 0.44 8.04 0.29 19.98 a 0.46 c c D 52.23 0.22 17.31 0.29 23.10 c 0.13 E 52.28 c 1.53 17.99 c 0.64 19.33 a 0.78 Cooked A 39.72 a 0.78 18.97 e 0.11 19.45 a 0.37 c b B 46.20 0.69 10.45 0.25 22.13 b 0.40 C 44.29 b 1.02 9.63 a 0.74 22.04 b 0.75 bc d D 45.07 0.89 15.66 0.20 22.43 b 0.43 E 45.92 c 0.54 12.03 c 0.45 19.65 a 0.16 Means in the same column with different letters are significant different (P<0.05) Folding test Folding test is a simple and fast method to measure the quality of gel springiness in frankfurters, folding test scores of beef frankfurters were in a range of 4.40 to 5.0 (A=5.00a 0.00; B=4.40a 0.55; C=4.80a 0.45; D=4.40a 0.55 and E=4.40a 0.55). There were no significance difference (P>0.05) in scores among the beef frankfurters. Generally, the score of folding test are indicative of the freshness of meat, meat species, sources of starch; storage method and ingredients used for sausage formulation. Texture profile Table 3 showed texture profile and shear force of beef frankfurters. Among texture attributes, hardness is the most important to the consumer, as it decides the commercial value of a meat (Chambers and Bowers, 1993). According to Dingstad et al. (2005), sausage with firmness (hardness) of 47.3 N (4.73kg) and above will have at least 60% of consumer willing to buy it. However, higher values for parameters measured in texture profile (hardness, cohesiveness, springiness and chewiness) do not necessary mean better quality. There is a cut-off point above which the texture of comminuted meat products would be unacceptable (Yu and Yeang, 1993). Therefore, determination of good textural qualities of comminuted meat products should be done together with sensory test in order to find out the most suitable range preferred by consumers. Sample L*

Table 3. Texture Profile and Shear Force of Beef Frankfurters Sample

A B C D E

Hardness (kg)
10.30d 1.42 8.89 cd 1.11 6.12 b 1.25 4.59 a 0.68 8.70 c 1.22

Elasticity (mm)
14.79 c 0.33 14.68 c 0.36 13.52 b 0.54 13.83 b 0.51 12.73 a 0.43

Cohesivene ss
0.34 c 0.02 0.29 b 0.02 0.31 b 0.03 0.26 a 0.02 0.35 c 0.02

Gumminess Chewiness (kgmm)

3.49 d 0.57 2.60 c 0.53 1.89 b 0.45 1.17 a 0.15 3.03 cd 0.55 51.72 d 8.90 38.15 c 8.08 25.50 b 5.92 16.15 a 2.05 38.61 c 7.70

Shear Force (kg)

5.38 b 0.51 7.08 c 0.88 4.67 b 1.42 2.12 a 0.22 1.67 a 0.26

Means within a column with different letters are significantly different (P < 0.05)

4.

CONCLUSION

Proximate composition, colour, cooking yield and textural properties are generally different among different brands of Malaysian commercial beef frankfurters. The differences in physicochemical properties of Malaysian commercial beef frankfurters are mainly due to the type and amount of ingredients added and the different processing methods employed. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The project was funded by the Science Fund research grant MOSTI 05-01-05SF0089 REFERENCES AOAC. 2000. Official Methods of Analysis, 17th Ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Washington, DC. Brown. A. 2004. Understanding Food: Principles and Preparation: 2nd Edition. Thomson Warsworth, Belmont. Chambers, E. N. and Bowers, J. R., 1993. Consumer Perception of Sensory Quality in Muscle Foods. J. Food Technology. 47, 116120. Claus, J. R., Hunt, M. C. and Kastner, C. L. 1989. Effect of Substituting Added Water For Fat on The Textural, Sensory and Processing Characteristics Of Bologna. J. Muscle Food 1:1-21. Dingstad, G.I., Kubberda, E., Nsa, T. and Egelandsdal, B. 2005. Critical Quality Constraints of Sensory Attributes in Frankfurter Type Sausages, to be Applied in Optimization Models, LWT. 38, 665-676. Hayes, J.E., Desmond, E.M., Troy, D.J., Buckley, D.J. and Mehra, R. 2005. The Effect of Whey Protein-Enriched Fraction on the Physical and Sensory Properties of Frankfurters. Meat Science. 71, 238-243. Colmenero, F. J. , Carballo, F. and Cofrades, S. 2001. Healthier Meat and Meat Products: Their Role as Functional Foods. Meat Science. 59, 513. Jo, C., Lee, J.I. and Ahn, D.U. 1999. Lipid Oxidation, Color Changes and Volatiles Production in Irradiated Pork Sausage with Different Fat Content and Packaging During Storage. Meat Science. 51, 355-361.

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