Emerging Technologies for Food Processing, 2nd Edition

3.2. HPP Effect on the Texture and Water Retention of Meat and Seafood

Texture and water retention are considered to be among the most important quality attributes of muscle-derived foods in general. Although a high tenderness is desired in mammalian meat, seafood and fish meat may not have the same specifications. Indeed, seafoods have a more rapid resolution of rigor, which results in an extensive softening of the flesh in comparison with their mammalian counterparts. Fish and fish-based products are consequently fragile and require firmness and cohesion for their consumption. Moreover, water retention in the muscle is of primary importance for economic and technological reasons. Tenderization of fresh meat during conditioning is directly linked ...