MEAT

SCIENCE
Meat Science 75 (2007) 134142
www.elsevier.com/locate/meatsci

Ecacy of lactic acid salts and sodium acetate on ground beef

colour stability and metmyoglobin-reducing activity q
M. Seyfert a, M.C. Hunt
a
b

a,*

, M. Lundesjo Ahnstrom b, D.E. Johnson

Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, Weber Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-0201, USA
Department of Food Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7051, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
c
Department of Statistics, Dickens Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
Received 17 February 2006; received in revised form 19 June 2006; accepted 19 June 2006

Abstract
This study examined two concentrations (0.6 and 1.0 mol) of three lactic acid salts (calcium lactate, CaL; potassium lactate, KL; and
sodium lactate, NaL), with and without 0.01 mol sodium acetate (n = 3 replications), for eects on ground beef colour stability and metmyoglobin-reducing activity (MRA). Ground beef with CaL was least colour stable (P < 0.05). Increasing CaL and NaL concentration
decreased (P < 0.05) colour stability. Ground beef with acetate only was most colour stable (P < 0.05), but it did not result in more MRA
(P > 0.05) than control ground beef. Including both lactate and acetate was not as eective (P > 0.05) in increasing colour stability as
acetate alone. In general, both KL levels were equal (P > 0.05) to the lower NaL concentration, and all three were superior in colour
stability (P < 0.05) to CaL and the higher NaL concentration. More MRA was generated by including lactates (P < 0.05); KL and
NaL had more MRA than CaL (P < 0.05). However, these increases in MRA did not result in improved colour stability. Overall, adding
KL to ground beef would not increase ground beef colour stability over adding nothing, but CaL and high levels of NaL would decrease
colour stability. Using 0.01 mol sodium acetate maximized ground beef colour stability.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Colour stability; Ground beef; Lactate; Metmyoglobin-reducing activity; Sodium acetate

1. Introduction
Lactate products with three dierent cations (calcium,
potassium, and sodium) are commercially available. Which
of these products ultimately is used in meat applications is
a balance between cost and functionality. Lactates exhibit
antimicrobial properties against nonpathogenic (Chen &
Shelef, 1992) and pathogenic (Miller & Acu, 1994) microora. In addition, the lactate anion seems to promote colour stability, so lactate is a single ingredient that may
address both safety and quality issues. Enhancing beef
steaks with a solution containing calcium lactate (CaL)
increased colour stability and decreased metmyoglobin forq
Contribution No. 06-103-J from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment
Station, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA.
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 785 532 1232; fax: +1 785 532 7059.
E-mail address: hhunt@ksu.edu (M.C. Hunt).

0309-1740/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2006.06.022

mation (Lawrence, Dikeman, Hunt, Kastner, & Johnson,

2004) as did potassium lactate (KL; Mancini et al., 2005).
But, using KL darkens meats appearance and decreases
L* value (Kim, Hunt, Mancini, Kropf, & Smith, 2005;
Mancini et al., 2005; Wagner et al., 2006).
Mancini, Kim, Hunt, and Lawrence (2004) measured
the eects of injection-enhancement solutions that contain
KL on meat colour chemistry. Inclusion of KL resulted in
increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, metmyoglobin-reducing activity (MRA), and colour stability during a 7-d display. The authors proposed a mechanism in
which lactate addition results in the conversion of lactate
to pyruvate by LDH and the generation of NADH. The
NADH subsequently increases the amount of reducing
equivalents available within meat, thus increasing MRA
and resulting in a more stable colour display. Kim et al.
(2005) further investigated the proposed mechanism
in situ and in vivo by using diering levels of KL. Increasing

M. Seyfert et al. / Meat Science 75 (2007) 134142

KL further enhanced LDH activity and MRA, indicating

that the proposed mechanism may indeed account for the
augmented colour stability aorded by lactate usage.
Although a comparison of the antimicrobial eects of the
three commercially available lactic acid salts has been
undertaken (Weaver & Shelef, 1993), no comparison of
the three with regard to colour stability is available.
Sodium acetate improved colour stability in injectionenhanced pork (Jensen et al., 2003b; Livingston, Brewer,
Killifer, Bidner, & McKeith, 2004). Sodium acetate and
KL exhibited a synergistic eect on improving enhanced
pork colour stability (Jensen et al., 2003a), but did not
improve stability versus KL alone in enhanced beef (Wagner et al., 2006). Despite this evidence for improved colour
stability in enhanced pork, no available literature has
examined the eects of sodium acetate alone in beef.
Although it seems that the hypothesized mechanism of
Mancini et al. (2004) has merit, it is unclear whether
sodium, potassium, and calcium lactate have similar
impacts on beef colour stability and MRA. The objectives
of this research were to determine the eects of two concentrations of three lactic acid salts and sodium acetate on colour stability and MRA in ground beef.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Ground beef preparation and formulation
Ground beef was used as a meat-model system that
aorded improved ingredient distribution within meat
and mimicked the usage of lactic acid salts and sodium acetate in injection-enhanced, whole-muscle beef. Paired
USDA Select beef strip loins (n = 3 pairs) were obtained
2 d postmortem and held at 1 C. On d 11 postmortem,
strip loins had the dorsal subcutaneous fat and longissimus
lumborum (LL) muscle separated from accessory muscles.
Only the subcutaneous fat and LL muscle from paired loins
were ground through a 12.5-mm-diameter plate by using a
Hobart Grinder (Model 4732; Hobart Manufacturing Co.,
Troy, OH). This process was repeated twice, for a total of 3
replications.
From each of the 3 loin pairs, one of 15 treatments was
assigned randomly to a 500-g batch of coarse-ground beef
(Table 1). The ingredient levels incorporated into ground
beef in this experiment closely approximate those used by
the meat industry in enhanced beef and in previous
research (Kim et al., 2005). Due to diering water contents
of the three lactate products, care was taken to equalize
added water for each lactate-containing treatment by using
deionized water to minimize dilution eects. Lactate products used in this study were potassium lactate (KL, PURASAL HiPure P, 60% KL), sodium lactate (NaL,
PURASAL S, 60% NaL), and calcium lactate (CaL, PURACAL PP/USP, dry powder; PURAC America, Lincolnshire, IL) in addition to sodium acetate (Verdugt, Tiel,
The Netherlands). Treatments were incorporated by hand,
and then ground through a 3.2-mm plate. Between each

135

treatment, the grinder was disassembled, thoroughly

cleaned, and rinsed prior to grinding the subsequent
treatment.
2.2. Patty preparation and packaging
From each of the 15 batches, two 113.5-g patties were
formed by hand with a 9.1-cm-diameter patty mold, resulting in patties approximately 1.5-cm thick. One patty was
placed on a foam tray (17S; McCune Paper Company, Salina, KS) with a Dri-Loc pad (AC-50; Cryovac, Duncan,
SC) and overwrapped with polyvinyl chloride lm
(MAPAC L, O2 transmission rate of 21,700 cc/m2/24 h;
Borden Packaging and Industrial Products, North Andover, MA) for simulated retail display. The other patty
was used for initial chemical and compositional assays.
2.3. Retail-display conditions
Packaged ground beef patties were placed into display
for 3 d with continuous uorescent lighting (Bulb F32T8/
ADV830, 3000 K, CRI = 86; Phillips, Bloomeld, NJ) of
2150 50 lux intensity in open-top display cases (Model
DMF8; Tyler Refrigeration Corp., Niles, MI). Cases
defrosted every 12 h. Case temperatures, 2.6 3.1 C, were
monitored at the meat level by using temperature loggers
(RD-TEMP-XT; Omega Engineering, Inc., Stamford,
CT).
2.4. Instrumental and visual colour
All samples were analyzed on d 0, 1, 2, and 3 for instrumental colour by using a HunterLab MiniScan XE Plus
Spectrophotometer (Model 45/0 LAV, 2.54-cm-diameter
aperture, 10 standard observer; Hunter Associates Laboratory, Inc., Reston, VA). The MiniScan was calibrated
using reference white and black tiles provided by the manufacturer. Values of CIE L*, a*, and b* (Illuminant A) were
used to calculate chroma (a*2 + b*2)1/2. Three scans from
each patty were obtained and averaged for statistical
analysis.
A trained panel (n = 6) conducted daily visual colour
evaluations. All panelists passed the Farnsworth Munsell
100-hue test (Macbeth, Newsburgh, NY) and attended orientation sessions to evaluate and discuss the colour of
ground beef used in the study. Initial beef colour was evaluated to characterize the colour at the beginning of display
on d 0 following patty formation to the nearest 0.5 on an 8point scale: 1 = bleached red, 2 = slight cherry red,
3 = moderately light cherry red, 4 = cherry red, 5 =
slightly dark red, 6 = moderately dark red, 7 = dark red,
and 8 = very dark red. Visual colour stability was assessed
each day of display by using a 7-point scale to the nearest
0.5: 1 = very bright cherry red, 2 = bright cherry red,
3 = dull red, 4 = slightly dark red, 5 = moderately dark
red to tan, 5.5 = borderline panelist acceptable, 6 = dark
red to brown, and 7 = very dark red to brown. Panelists

136

M. Seyfert et al. / Meat Science 75 (2007) 134142

Table 1
Treatments and designations for ground beef model system evaluating
eects of lactate salts and sodium acetatea

following equation was used: (Initial % surface MMb

Final % surface MMb/Initial % surface MMb) 100.

Treatment
designationb

Lactate salt
(Ca, K, Na)

Lactate usage level

(0.06 or 0.10 mol)

Sodium acetate
(0.01 mol)

2.6. pH, fat, and moisture

Control
Control + water
Acetate
Lo CaL
Lo CaL + Ace
Hi CaL
Hi CaL + Ace
Lo KL
Lo KL + Ace
Hi KL
Hi KL + Ace
Lo NaL
Lo NaL + Ace
Hi NaL
Hi NaL + Ace

Ca
Ca
Ca
Ca
K
K
K
K
Na
Na
Na
Na

0.06
0.06
0.10
0.10
0.06
0.06
0.10
0.10
0.06
0.06
0.10
0.10

No
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes

Vacuum-packaged samples from the day of processing

were frozen in liquid nitrogen and blended by using a Waring table-top blender (Dynamics Corp. of America, New
Hartford, CT). To determine pH, 10 g of sample was added
to 100 mL of distilled water and mixed for 30 s, and then
the pH values were obtained with an Accumet glass electrode attached to an Accumet 50 pH meter (Fisher Scientic, Fairlawn, NJ). Moisture and fat content were
determined on pulverized sample by using the CEM
SMART (moisture) and SMART Trac (fat) systems
(AOAC PVM 1:2003; Keeton et al., 2003).

All treatments except the control were equalized on an added-water

basis.
b
Lo = 0.06 mol lactate; Hi = 0.10 mol lactate; CaL = calcium lactate;
KL = potassium lactate; NaL = sodium lactate; Ace = 0.01 mol sodium
acetate.

estimated the percentage of surface metmyoglobin on a 7point scale: 1 = no discolouration (0%), 2 = slight (1
19%), 3 = small (2039%), 4 = modest (4059%), 5 = moderate (6079%), 6 = extensive (8099%), and 7 = total discolouration (100%).
2.5. Metmyoglobin-reducing activity
Metmyoglobin-reducing activity (MRA) was determined by obtaining a 1 cm 1 cm 1.5 cm sample from
the center of each patty on d 0 and 3 by using a procedure
described by Sammel, Hunt, Kropf, Hachmeister, and
Johnson (2002). The samples were submerged for 20 min
in a 0.3% sodium nitrite solution to facilitate the formation
of metmyoglobin (MMb). The samples were then removed
from the solution, blotted dry, and vacuum packaged (3mil, standard-barrier nylon/polyethylene bags, O2 transmission rate of 0.6 cc/645.16 cm2/24 h at 0 C and H2O
transmission rate of 0.6 g/645.16 cm2/24 h at 37.8 C and
90% relative humidity; Koch Supplies, Inc., Kansas City,
MO). Packaged samples were scanned on the light-exposed
surface with a HunterLab MiniScan XE Plus Spectrophotometer (Model D/8-S, 14.3-mm-diameter aperture;
Hunter Associates Laboratory, Inc., Reston, VA) to obtain
400700 nm reectance data, and were incubated at 30 C
for 2 h (Thelco model 4; Precision Scientic, Chicago, IL)
to induce enzymatic reduction of MMb to deoxymyoglobin
(DMb).
When the samples were removed from the incubator,
they were immediately rescanned to determine the amount
of remaining surface MMb by using K/S ratios and equations from AMSA (1991). Reference values for the three
myoglobin forms in ground beef were obtained from Mancini, Hunt, and Kropf (2003). To calculate MRA, the

2.7. Statistical analysis

The experiment was a completely randomized design
with 15 treatments and 3 replications. Treatments included
a control (no added ingredients), control + water added,
and acetate-only treatment; the remaining 12 treatments
consisted of a 3 2 2 factorial arrangement with three
lactic acid salts (calcium, potassium, and sodium), two lactate levels (0.06 and 0.1 mol), with and without 0.01 mol of
sodium acetate. The MIXED procedure of SAS (2003) was
used to perform type-3 tests of xed eects (P < 0.10) for
all variables. Treatment means were generated by using
the LSMEANS option. The ESTIMATE option was used
for predetermined treatment comparisons with dierences
between treatments determined (P < 0.05).
3. Results
3.1. Moisture, fat, and pH
Moisture (49.5 to 57.7%), fat (21.5 to 28.2%), and pH
(5.5 to 5.7) were not appreciably or consistently impacted
by treatment (Table 2). Initial beef colour was lightest or
palest (P < 0.05) for Con + water and both Hi CaL treatments (Table 2). Treatments with KL, NaL, or Lo CaL
were darker (P < 0.05) than Hi CaL treatments. Using
the high KL level with acetate darkened (P < 0.05) the initial ground beef colour.
3.2. Colour
There were three signicant two-way interactions: lactate ion lactate concentration, acetate lactate concentration, and lactate ion display day. Colour data for
each interaction are presented, followed by MRA data
for each interaction.
3.2.1. Lactate-ion lactate-concentration interactions
During display, the Hi CaL treatment had the worst
visual-colour stability (highest scores), least intensely red

M. Seyfert et al. / Meat Science 75 (2007) 134142

Table 2
Moisture, fat, pH, and initial beef colour of ground beef for all treatments
Treatmenta

Moisture, %

Fat, %

pH

Initial beef colourb

Control
Control + water
Acetate
Lo CaL
Lo CaL + Ace
Hi CaL
Hi CaL + Ace
Lo KL
Lo KL + Ace
Hi KL
Hi KL + Ace
Lo NaL
Lo NaL + Ace
Hi NaL
Hi NaL + Ace
SEMc

50.6
56.4
56.6
53.1
53.7
56.3
56.3
56.4
55.3
51.0
57.7
56.2
49.5
56.1
50.4
3.56

24.1
25.8
24.9
28.2
24.2
24.0
23.5
23.7
25.2
22.0
21.5
24.2
24.6
24.3
22.7
1.17

5.6
5.6
5.7
5.5
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.5
5.6
5.6
5.7
5.6
5.7
5.6
5.6
0.05

3.3
2.7
3.3
3.1
3.2
2.4
2.2
3.3
3.4
3.6
3.9
3.6
3.3
3.4
3.5
0.24

a
Control = no added ingredients; Control + water = added water;
Lo = 0.06 mol lactate; Hi = 0.10 mol lactate; CaL = calcium lactate;
KL = potassium lactate; NaL = sodium lactate; Ace = 0.01 mol sodium
acetate.
b
Initial beef visual colour scale: 1 = bleached red, 8 = very dark red.
c
Standard error of the mean.

colour (lowest a* and chroma values), and most metmyoglobin (MMb; P < 0.05), followed closely by treatments
with Lo CaL or Hi NaL (P < 0.05; Table 3). The results
of adding water, KL, or Lo NaL to ground beef were similar (P > 0.05) to those for control ground beef. Increasing
the CaL or NaL concentration decreased visual colour stability, reduced a* and chroma values, and increased MMb
values (P < 0.05), whereas both KL levels resulted in
ground beef with similar colour (P > 0.05). Ground beef
with water or Hi CaL had the lightest appearance (largest
L* value; P < 0.05). Control ground beef was less dark
(greater L*) than ground beef treated with Hi KL or either
concentration of NaL (P < 0.05).
3.2.2. Acetate lactate-concentration interactions
Visual-colour-stability scores were greatest, a* values
were smallest, and MMb values were largest for treatments

137

with a high lactate-concentration (P < 0.05), whereas

ground beef with low lactate levels had visual-colour stability, a*, chroma, and MMb values similar (P > 0.05) to
those of control ground beef and ground beef with water
(Table 4). Adding acetate only to ground beef created the
most visual-colour stability, the largest a* and chroma values, and the lowest MMb values (P < 0.05). Ground beef
with water was lightest (largest L* value; P < 0.05), and
ground beef containing a low lactate concentration with
or without acetate, and a high lactate concentration with
acetate were darker (smaller L* value; P < 0.05) than control ground beef and ground beef with water. Ground beef
with acetate only had the largest (P < 0.05) b* value except
when compared to ground beef with water.
3.2.3. Lactate-ion display-day interaction
All treatments discoloured visually and instrumentally
throughout display (Table 5). On d 0, all treatments were
of equal instrumental and visual colour (P > 0.05) except
for CaL which had less visual-colour stability than acetate
only (P < 0.05). From d 1 to 3, ground beef with CaL had
the least visual-colour stability and redness (highest scores,
smallest a* and chroma values) and most MMb (P < 0.05).
Ground beef with NaL had greater visual-colour stability
(d 1 to 2) and MMb scores (d 1 to 3) than ground beef with
acetate only (P < 0.05). All other treatments were similar
(P > 0.05) to NaL and acetate only on d 1 to 3 for both
visual-colour measurements. On d 1, ground beef with acetate or KL had greater redness (larger a* and chroma) than
ground beef with NaL. During the rest of display, NaL had
lower a* values than all treatments (P < 0.05) except CaL,
and it had lower (P < 0.05) chroma values than ground
beef with acetate. None of the experimental treatments
aorded added colour stability compared to contol ground
beef (P > 0.05).
The eects on lightness (L*) were varied across treatments. In general, lactate-containing treatments were darker than ground beef with water added (Table 5). On d 2
and 3, ground beef with KL or NaL was darker (P < 0.05)
than ground beef with CaL. With respect to b* (yellow-

Table 3
Visual and instrumental colour lactate-ion by lactate-concentration interaction means of ground beef displayed for 3 d
Trait
Colour stabilityC
MetmyoglobinD
L*
a*
b*
ChromaE
wz

TreatmentsA
Control

Control + water

Lo CaL

Hi CaL

Lo KL

Hi KL

Lo NaL

Hi NaL

SEMB

3.8z
3.1z
55.7x
21.9x
22.0x
31.2x

4.0z
3.2z
58.1w
21.8x
22.1x
31.3x

4.7y
4.1y
55.2xy
19.9y
21.3z
29.4y

5.5x
5.0x
58.2w
17.8z
21.5yz
28.3z

3.9z
3.1z
54.7xyz
22.3x
22.1x
31.5x

4.0z
3.2z
53.8z
22.4x
22.2x
31.7x

3.9z
3.1z
54.4yz
21.8x
21.8xy
31.0x

4.6y
3.8y
54.3yz
20.4y
21.5y
29.8y

0.210.26
0.250.30
0.490.61
0.510.66
0.200.25
0.460.59

Means in a row with a dierent letter dier (P < 0.05).

Control = no added ingredients; Control + water = added water; Lo = 0.06 mol lactate; Hi = 0.10 mol lactate; CaL = calcium lactate; KL = potassium lactate; NaL = sodium lactate.
B
Standard error of the mean.
C
Display visual colour stability scale: 1 = very bright cherry red, 7 = very dark red to brown.
D
Visual appraisal of surface metmyoglobin scale: 1 = none (0%), 8 = total discolouration (100%).
E
(a*2 + b*2)1/2.
A

138

M. Seyfert et al. / Meat Science 75 (2007) 134142

Table 4
Visual and instrumental colour sodium acetate by lactate-concentration interaction means of ground beef displayed for 3 d
TreatmentsA

Trait

Control
C

Colour stability
MetmyoglobinD
L*
a*
b*
ChromaE
vz
A
B
C
D
E

yz

3.8
3.1y
55.7y
21.9y
22.0yz
31.2y

Control + water
xy

4.0
3.2y
58.1x
21.8y
22.1xy
31.3y

Acetate
z

3.4
2.5z
55.2yz
23.4x
22.6x
32.7x

Lo No Ace
x

Hi No Ace
w

4.3
3.5y
54.9z
21.1y
21.7z
30.5yz

4.6
4.0x
55.0z
20.2z
21.8yz
30.0z

Lo + Ace

Hi + Ace

xy

4.1
3.4y
54.6z
21.6y
21.8yz
30.9y

4.8
4.0x
55.9y
20.3z
21.6z
29.9z

SEMB
0.180.37
0.210.43
0.400.86
0.450.90
0.160.35
0.390.80

Means in a row with a dierent letter dier (P < 0.05).

Control = no added ingredients; Control + water = added water; Lo = 0.06 mol lactate; Hi = 0.10 mol lactate; Ace = 0.01 mol sodium acetate.
Standard error of the mean.
Display visual colour stability scale: 1 = very bright cherry red, 7 = very dark red to brown.
Visual appraisal of surface metmyoglobin scale: 1 = none (0%), 8 = total discolouration (100%).
(a*2 + b*2)1/2.

ness), ground beef with acetate was greater (P < 0.05) than
ground beef with NaL or CaL on d 1 to 3. On d 1 and 2,
ground beef with water or acetate was similar for b*
(P > 0.05). However, only CaL diered from control
ground beef.

3.3. Metmyoglobin-reducing activity (MRA)

3.3.1. Lactate-ion lactate-concentration interaction
Ground beef with KL or NaL had the most MRA
(P < 0.05; Fig. 1). Adding CaL or acetate did not increase

Table 5
Visual and instrumental colour lactate-ion by display-day interaction means of ground beef displayed for 3 d
DayB

Trait

TreatmentsA
Control

pyz

Control + water
pyz

Acetate
pz

CaL
oy

KL

NaL
pyz

pyz

SEMC

Colour stability

0
1
2
3

1.9
2.8oyz
4.6nyz
6.1mz

2.1
3.2oyz
4.6nyz
6.1mz

1.4
2.4oz
4.1nz
5.7mz

2.4
4.6nx
6.5mx
6.9my

1.9
2.9oyz
4.8nyz
6.1mz

2.0
3.4oy
5.3ny
6.3mz

0.250.58

MetmyoglobinE

0
1
2
3

1.0oz
1.8oyz
3.6nyz
5.8myz

1.3pz
2.3oyz
3.7nyz
5.5myz

1.0oz
1.5oz
2.7nz
4.7mz

1.3oz
3.9nx
6.1mx
6.9mx

1.2pz
2.1oyz
3.7nyz
5.5myz

1.1pz
2.6oy
4.3ny
6.0my

0.350.70

L*

0
1
2
3

56.9mxyz
55.2mxy
54.6myz
56.2mxy

58.3mx
57.6mx
57.7mx
58.8mw

56.6myz
54.1myz
54.9myz
55.3myz

58.1mxy
54.9oy
56.2noxy
57.5mnwx

56.3mz
53.7nyz
53.4nz
53.7nz

56.3mz
53.1nz
53.7nz
54.4nyz

0.781.13

a*

0
1
2
3

31.7mz
23.2nxy
18.5ox
14.3px

31.4mz
23.0nxy
18.6ox
14.3px

33.7mz
24.2nx
19.6ox
16.0px

32.6mz
19.3nz
13.4oz
10.2pz

33.3mz
23.5nx
18.2ox
14.4px

33.2mz
21.7ny
16.7oy
12.8py

0.771.45

b*

0
1
2
3

25.7mz
22.2nxy
20.5oxy
19.5oyz

26.0myz
22.4nx
20.6ox
19.5oyz

26.9my
22.7nx
20.8ox
20.1oy

26.5myz
20.8nz
19.2oz
19.1oz

26.8my
22.2nxy
20.2oxy
19.4pyz

26.5myz
21.4ny
19.7oyz
19.0pz

0.280.60

ChromaF

0
1
2
3

40.8mz
32.2nxy
27.6oxy
24.2pxy

40.8mz
32.1nxy
27.8oxy
24.3pxy

43.1mz
33.2nx
28.6ox
25.7px

42.0mz
28.4nz
23.5oz
21.7pz

42.7mz
32.3nx
27.2oxy
24.2pxy

42.5mz
30.5ny
25.8oy
23.0py

0.691.30

mp
wz
A
B
C
D
E
F

Means in a column within a trait with a dierent letter dier (P < 0.05).
Means in a row with a dierent letter dier (P < 0.05).
Control = no added ingredients; Control + water = added water; CaL = calcium lactate; KL = potassium lactate; NaL = sodium lactate.
Day of display at 2.6 3.1 C.
Standard error of the mean.
Display visual colour stability scale: 1 = very bright cherry red, 7 = very dark red to brown.
Visual appraisal of surface metmyoglobin scale: 1 = none (0%), 8 = total discolouration (100%).
(a*2 + b*2)1/2.

M. Seyfert et al. / Meat Science 75 (2007) 134142

139

Hi CaL

Hi NaL

Lo CaL

Lo NaL

yz

Hi KL

Lo KL

Control+water

MMb reduced, %

40

Control

50

30

20

10

Fig. 1. Lactate-ion lactate-concentration interaction means of metmyoglobin-reducing activity (MRA) for ground beef displayed 3 d. Calculated as:
(Initial % surface MMb Final % surface MMb/Initial % surface MMb) 100. yzMeans with a dierent letter dier (P < 0.05). Standard error of the
mean: 2.112.59. Control = no added ingredients; Control + water = added water; Lo = 0.06 mol lactate; Hi = 0.10 mol lactate; CaL = calcium lactate;
KL = potassium lactate; NaL = sodium lactate.

MRA, compared with that of control ground beef or

ground beef with water (P > 0.05). Lactate level had no
inuence (P > 0.05) on MRA.
3.3.2. Acetate lactate-concentration interaction
Inclusion of lactate, with and without acetate, in
ground beef resulted in more (P < 0.05) MRA than the
control and control-plus-water treatments (Fig. 2).
Ground beef with acetate only was similar (P > 0.05) to
other treatments.
3.3.3. Lactate-ion display-day interaction
All treatments decreased (P < 0.05) in MRA from d 0 to 3
(Fig. 3). On d 0, all lactates increased MRA (P < 0.05), and
ground beef with KL or NaL had more MRA than ground
beef with CaL did (P < 0.05). At the end of the display,
ground beef with acetate or KL had more MRA (P < 0.05)
than did ground beef with CaL. Ground beef with NaL
and control ground beef did not dier (P > 0.05) from any
treatment.
4. Discussion
4.1. Lactate eects
Using CaL, particularly at higher levels, resulted in the
lightest colour (largest L*) with the least colour stability
(largest decreases in a* and chroma, largest increases in
visual-colour scores). This contrasts with greater visual colour darkening and improved redness intensity (a* and
chroma) when CaL was used in injection-enhanced,

whole-muscle beef (Lawrence, Dikeman, Hunt, Kastner,

& Johnson, 2003). Increasing CaL concentration decreased
colour and lipid stability due to the oxidative catalyzing
characteristics of CaL (Lawrence et al., 2003, 2004).
Although not measured in this study, an increase in lipid
oxidation could explain the decreased colour stability of
CaL as lipid-oxidation byproducts increase the likelihood
of myoglobin oxidation (Alderton, Faustman, Liebler, &
Hill, 2003; Faustman, Liebler, McClure, & Sun, 1999;
Lynch & Faustman, 2000).
Dierences between the performance of CaL in this
study and in the studies by Lawrence et al. (2003, 2004)
likely can be attributed to the raw material: ground beef
versus injection-enhanced, whole-muscle beef. Grinding
the beef may have facilitated an increase in lipid oxidation
from CaL because minced meats undergo lipid oxidation
more rapidly than intact muscle does (Renerre, 1990). Further, Lawrence et al. (2004) used a solution of phosphate
and salt as a control rather than an uninjected control to
compare with CaL. Phosphate (Trout, 1990) and salt (Akamittath, Brekke, & Schanus, 1990) can darken colour and
increase myoglobin oxidation; thus, comparisons of CaL
with controls were not uniform among the studies. In addition, the current study used a dry form of CaL, whereas the
whole-muscle studies used aqueous CaL. Because of the
poor solubility of CaL, it was not possible to incorporate
it as a liquid and still compare the three lactates on an
equal-mole basis. During incorporation of the dry CaL, a
sticky texture developed that likely was the result of protein
extraction. If a signicant amount of protein was extracted
in the current study, this may have increased myoglobin

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M. Seyfert et al. / Meat Science 75 (2007) 134142

yz

Control

Control+water

Acetate

50

MMb reduced, %

40

30
20
10

Hi+Ace

Lo+Ace

Lo No Ace

Hi No Ace

Fig. 2. Sodium acetate lactate-concentration interaction means of metmyoglobin-reducing activity (MRA) for ground beef displayed 3 d. Calculated as:
(Initial % surface MMb Final % surface MMb/Initial % surface MMb) 100. yzMeans with a dierent letter dier (P < 0.05). Standard error of the
mean: 1.723.66. Control = no added ingredients; Control + water = added water; Lo = 0.06 mol lactate; Hi = 0.10 mol lactate; Ace = 0.01 mol sodium
acetate.

d0

d3

80
c

c
MMb reduced, %

60

40
yz

yz

20

NaL

KL

CaL

Acetate

Control+water

Control

Fig. 3. Lactate-ion display-day interaction means of metmyoglobin-reducing activity (MRA) for ground beef displayed 3 d. Calculated as: (Initial %
surface MMb Final % surface MMb/Initial % surface MMb) 100. abcMeans on d 0 with a dierent letter dier (P < 0.05). yzMeans on d 3 with a
dierent letter dier (P < 0.05). Within all treatments, d 0 and 3 means dier (P < 0.05). Standard error of the mean: 2.103.34. Control = no added
ingredients; Control + water = added water; CaL = calcium lactate; KL = potassium lactate; NaL = sodium lactate.

oxidation and reduced MRA (Ledward, Smith, Clark, &

Nicholson, 1977). Thus, dry CaL powder may not be
appropriate for ground-meat applications.
Ground beef with Lo NaL (but not Hi NaL) had
improved colour stability over ground beef with either
CaL level. Use of Lo NaL did not increase colour stability,
compared with that of control ground beef. Data on the

eects of NaL on raw beef colour are limited. Processors

typically avoid its usage due to concerns regarding nutritional labeling. Using NaL darkened and increased instrumental and visual redness of cooked beef (Maca, Miller,
Maca, & Acu, 1997; Papadopoulos, Miller, Ringer, &
Cross, 1991) and vacuum-packaged ground beef (Maca,
Miller, & Acu, 1997).

M. Seyfert et al. / Meat Science 75 (2007) 134142

Ground beef with either level of KL was similar in colour traits to control ground beef and ground beef with Lo
NaL except that ground beef with Hi KL was darker (smaller L*) than control ground beef. Although the dierence
was not signicant, ground beef with KL consistently
had more stable colour than did ground beef with Lo
NaL. A decrease in L* and an increase in visual colour stability and a* values with use of KL havebeen noted in injection-enhanced beef (Kim et al., 2005; Mancini et al., 2005;
Wagner et al., 2006), and these results were accentuated
when more KL was added to enhancing solutions (Kim
et al., 2005).
Earlier studies indicated that adding KL to beef could
increase MRA (Kim et al., 2005; Mancini et al., 2004). In
the current study, each lactate did increase MRA at the initiation of display, KL and NaL more so than CaL. But no
dierences were observed with control ground beef at the
end of the display.
In general, the eectiveness of the three lactates and
their concentrations in ground beef were both KL levels
and Lo NaL (most stable) > Hi NaL and Lo CaL > Hi
CaL (least stable). Given that Hi and Lo KL and Lo
NaL performed similarly, it seems reasonable to recommend that Lo KL be used in ground beef applications. This
would limit the impact of sodium on nutritional labels, and
lessen the cost associated with higher KL concentrations.
However, none of the treatments was more eective than
the control ground beef treatment indicating that no treatment would provide any advantage over adding no lactate.
4.2. Acetate eects
Ground beef with acetate alone consistently had more
intense red colour (larger a* and chroma), particularly
when compared with CaL and NaL. It did not provide a
signicant advantage over KL in visual colour, but did
have a consistent slight advantage in instrumental colour.
Even though acetate did not increase MRA as the lactates
did, it seems to have utility as a colour-stabilizing agent in
beef. Acetate in injection-enhanced pork loin chops
decreased discolouration (Livingston et al., 2004).
4.3. Lactate and acetate combination eects
Ground beef with both lactate and acetate had less
visual and instrumental colour stability than did ground
beef with acetate only throughout display. Reasons for this
are unclear. Treatments with lactate and acetate had equal
MRA to those with lactate only, but had more MRA than
those with acetate only. Because ground beef with acetate
alone was similar to control ground beef, the MRA
increase from using both acetate and lactate must result
from the lactate. It seems that lactate may inhibit or mask
the benets of acetate on colour. Injection-enhanced beef
steaks with KL and acetate were of similar colour and colour stability to steaks with KL only (Kim et al., 2005; Wagner et al., 2006), but neither study examined acetate alone.

141

5. Conclusions
The three commercially available lactic acid salts (calcium, sodium, and potassium) are not similar in their
eects on ground beef colour stability and metmyoglobinreducing activity. All lactates did increase metmyoglobinreducing activity, but none of the lactate salts improved
ground beef colour stability compared to ground beef without any lactate. Calcium lactate or 1.0 mol of NaL would
likely reduce ground beef colour stability. Sodium acetate
was superior to any lactate in stabilizing ground beef colour, and slightly better than using combinations of sodium
acetate and lactate. Future research should focus on the
performance of the three lactate forms, sodium acetate,
and their combination in injection-enhanced, whole-muscle
beef and pork, where their use is more common. Additional
research as to the mechanism of acetate in ground beef colour stabilization is warranted.
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