Meat Massaging: Effects of Salt and Phosphate on the Ultrastructure of Cured Porcine Muscle

Samples of rectus femoris were collected from cured ham muscles which had been massaged for 0, 1, 2, 4, 8 or 24 hr with 0, 1, 2, or 3% of added salt in the presence or absence of 0.5% phosphate for examination with a scanning election microscope (SEM). After several hours of massaging, fiber disruption became evident. Further massaging resulted in longitudinal disruption of the fibers. Myofibrils were observed to separate and shred from the surface of the fibers. After 24 hr of massage, all treatments showed massive fiber disruption and loss of normal structural integrity. The effects of massaging were more pronounced in the presence of salts and phosphates at all time intervals.