Effects of air blast thawing combined with infrared radiation on physical properties of pork

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of infrared (IR) radiation combined with air blast thawing on the physical properties of pork. Regardless of air velocity, increasing IR dosage produced an exponential increase in the thawing rate of pork. This rate increased further when air blast velocity was increased. IR treatments showed significantly lower thawing loss than that of 0 Watt treatment, while increasing air velocity significantly increased thawing loss of pork (p0.05). Shear force also increased with increasing air velocity. In addition, the higher the air velocity the higher the shear force of pork. In Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) colour determination, control of temperature prevented discolouration from overheating of sample surface. The results suggest that IR dosage combined with air blast has potential in thawed meat quality aspects, and that humidity control could prevent surface drying.