CHANGES IN THE INTRAMUSCULAR COLLAGEN CONTENT AND DEGREE OF ITS THERMOHYDROLYSIS IN BOVINE MUSCLES UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF CURING AND PASTEURISATION

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of the introduction of curing brine, massaging and pasteurisation on the dynamics of changes in collagen content and its thermohydrolysis rate in two bovine muscles with different topographic positions in the carcass: the semimembranosus muscle (m. semimembranosus) and the lumbar part of the longissimus dorsi muscle (m. longissimus lumborum). Brine contained, among other things, NaCl, phosphates and collagen protein. In the study the pH value of muscles, contents of crude protein and dry matter were determined together with the amount of collagen and its susceptibility to thermohydrolysis; moreover, shear force value was determined using the WBSF test. On the basis of the conducted tests it was found that the semimembranosus muscle contained more collagen than the lumbar part of the longissimus dorsi muscle. The