Impact of tumbling operating parameters on salt, water and acetic acid transfers during biltong-type meat processing

Abstract This study investigated the impact of tumbling on mass transfer mechanisms occurring in small beef meat pieces during biltong production, by measuring salt, water and acetic acid profiles within the meat for different experimental tumbling conditions. Tumbling conditions significantly impacted the solute concentration profiles, except for that of water. Values of both salt and acetic acid diffusion coefficients obtained clearly showed that tumbling increased solute transfers inside meat, with diffusion coefficient values ranging from 2 to 27 × 10−9 m2  s−1 and from 0.2 to 8.6 × 10−9 m2  s−1, respectively. The tumbling mechanical effect related to the device used impacted the most on mass transfers (p-value