High-pressure effects on IgE immunoreactivity of proteins in a sausage batter.

摘要

Meat trimmings that may be contaminated with microorganisms are commonly used to manufacture meat products. Regular production procedures, however, particularly where products such as raw fermented sausages are concerned, may not be sufficient for pathogen elimination. High pressure (HP) processing has the potential to decontaminate products within this category, and may also reduce their allergenicity. In this study, effects of HP treatment (600 MPa), intended as an anti-listerial procedure, were investigated upon the IgE-immunological reactivity of typical raw Hungarian sausage batter (emulsion). Samples of batter were inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes (5 x 106 cfu/g) and treated at 600 MPa and 10-40degC for 20 min. They were then examined for microbiological quality, colour, texture, protein denaturation and/or aggregation and changes in immunoreactivity. HP treatment increased the lightness and decreased the redness of the sausage batter, but counts of Listeria were reduced by 4-5 log cycles. HP treated batter was also found to be harder than untreated samples. The urea soluble fraction of the sausage batter proteins displayed an altered immunoreactive profile following treatment. Some proteins were undetectable after HP processing and a number of new ones became apparent. Results suggest that conformational changes in sausage batter proteins may be induced by HP treatment, in conjunction with a certain level of epitope structure alteration. It is suggested that treatment of sausage batter at 600 MPa may modify the IgE immunoreactivity of its proteins.