Abstract: In order to study the effect of low voltage electrostatic field (LVEF)-assisted chilling storage on beef quality, changes in the total bacterial count, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content, color, purge loss, cooking loss and shear force of bovine Longissimus dorsi muscles were determined during chilling storage with and without LVEF treatment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to observe the microstructure of muscle tissues. On the 7th day of storage, the total bacterial counts of meat samples subjected to LVEF treatment at 10, 30 and 50 cm away from the electrostatic field generating plate were 5.11, 5.54 and 5.27 (lg(CFU/g)), respectively, which were significantly lower than 6.41 (lg(CFU/g)) observed for the control group (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the meat samples in the LVEF groups maintained higher freshness during the whole storage period and had significantly lower TVB-N contents (P < 0.05). Moreover, the meat samples in the LVEF groups exhibited significantly lower purge loss and shear force value (P < 0.05), significantly higher L* and a* values (P < 0.05), higher water-holding capacity and tenderness and a brighter color relative to the control group. SEM and TEM results revealed that the muscle fibers of LVEF-treated meat samples were more densely arranged and the microstructure was better maintained during storage when compared to the control group. In general, LVEF-assisted chilling could effectively prolong the shelf-life of beef and delay its quality deterioration and the effective distance between meat and electrostatic field generating plate was 10–50 cm.

Key words: low voltage electrostatic field; bovine Longissimus dorsi muscles; quality; chilling storage