Minimum sodium nitrite levels for pinking of various cooked meats as related to use of direct or indirect-dried soy isolates in poultry rolls

K M Heaton; D P Cornforth; I V Moiseev; W R Egbert; C E Carpenter

doi:10.1016/s0309-1740(99)00160-6

Minimum sodium nitrite levels for pinking of various cooked meats as related to use of direct or indirect-dried soy isolates in poultry rolls

Meat Sci. 2000 Jul;55(3):321-9. doi: 10.1016/s0309-1740(99)00160-6.

Authors

K M Heaton¹, D P Cornforth, I V Moiseev, W R Egbert, C E Carpenter

Affiliation

¹ Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-8700, USA.

PMID: 22061290
DOI: 10.1016/s0309-1740(99)00160-6

Abstract

The relationship between sodium nitrite level and pinking was investigated in cooked meats, as measured by panel color score, acetone extraction of NO-hemochrome, and instrumental redness values. Beef was less susceptible than poultry breast meat to nitrite-induced pinking. Minimum sodium nitrite level for pinking was 14, 4, 2, and 1 ppm for beef round, pork shoulder, turkey breast, and chicken breast, respectively. By regression analysis, minimum ppm nitrite for pinking=0.092 (ppm total pigment)+0.53 (R(2)=0.99). High levels of nitrate (>250 ppm as sodium nitrate) and nitrite (>45 ppm as sodium nitrite) were found in direct-dried (DD) soy isolates. Chicken breast rolls formulated with >2% DD soy were pink, but control rolls with 156 ppm sodium nitrate were not pink. Thus, it was concluded that nitrite was the primary pinking agent in DD soy. Indirect-dried (ID) soy isolates contained <11 ppm sodium nitrite, which was insufficient for pinking in poultry rolls.