Phosphate Type and Salt Concentration Effects on Shear Strength of and Packaging Film Adhesion to Processed Meat From a Cook‐in Packaging System

Shear force values of product slices and adhesion at packaging film‐meat interfaces were measured for vacuum‐packaged, cook‐in‐the‐film prepared meat products. With 2.0% NaCl, phosphate addition at 0.4% increased both measures in the following order of effectiveness: sodium acid pyrophosphate > sodium tripolyphosphate > no phosphate. For NaCl effects, generally a 1% increase in concentration in the range of 0.5% to 4.0% was required to increase shear values of cooked products. Adhesion at the film‐meat interface did not increase until the NaCl concentration was >3.0%. In studying type of phosphate or NaCl concentration effects, higher adhesion occurred for packaging films having a nylon sealant layer as compared to films with sealants of Surlyn or a nylon‐Surlyn blend.