Formulation of a Pasteurized Restructured Beef Product

Restructured beef products (18 – 20% fat) were formulated and pasteurized to provide storage stability at 4.4°C. An optimal formulation was determined with a full factorial experiment having 4 levels of whey and rennet-treated sodium caseinate blend and 3 levels of texturized soy protein. Response surfaces for product yield, fat retention and bind strength were calculated utilizing regression procedures. Maximum product yield of 92% was predicted by the optimization and subsequently achieved. An observed fat retention of 92% was lower than the predicted value. Over 16 wk of storage at 4.4°C, no aerobic or anaerobic bacterial growth was observed and TBA values remained very low.