Effects of supercritical carbon dioxide treatment on meat quality and sensory evaluation in soy sauce and hot-pepper paste marinated pork

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) treatment on meat quality and sensory evaluation of marinated pork. Meat marinated in two traditional Korean marinades, soy sauce and hot-pepper paste, and raw marinated meat were then treated with 7.4, 12.2, or 15.2 MPa CO₂ at 31.1°C for 10 min. The SC-CO₂ treatments had no effect on the meat pH (p>0.05) or Warner-Bratzler shear force (p>0.05). There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the total loss (sum of treatment loss and cooking loss) between the control and SC-CO₂ treated samples at 15.2 MPa (soy sauce marinated pork: 21.78 vs. 18.97%; hot-pepper marinated pork: 21.61 vs. 18.01%). After the SC-CO₂ treatment, lighter surface colors were observed in the treatment samples compared to those of the control samples (p< 0.001). However, tasting panelists were unable to distinguish a difference in color or in overall acceptability of the control and treatment (p>0.05). In the case of soy sauce marinated pork, when SC-CO₂ applied at 15.2 MPa and 31.1°C for 10 min, treatment samples showed a tenderer meat than the control samples. Therefore, the SC-CO₂ treatment conditions had no adverse effects on the sensory quality characteristics of the marinated meat products.