Fresh pork quality can deteriorate rapidly after slaughter as muscle tissues consume their energy reserves, leading to changes in color, moisture, and texture that reduce market value. A recent study published in Food Quality and Safety (DOI: 10.1093/fqsafe/fyag047) demonstrates that applying an electrostatic field (EF) during near-freezing storage can slow this process at the biochemical level, potentially offering a new preservation technique for the meat industry.
Researchers from the Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the College of Food Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, investigated the effects of a continuous 12-kilovolt EF on pork muscle stored at −1 ± 0.5 °C, compared to conventional refrigeration at 4 ± 0.5 °C and near-freezing storage without EF. They tracked changes in energy metabolites, glycolytic enzymes, and protein structure over 120 hours postmortem.
The results showed that EF-treated pork had 17.5% less lactate accumulation than conventionally refrigerated samples, while glycogen and ATP consumption were approximately 14.9% and 37.3% lower, respectively. The treatment also preserved more pyruvate and reduced Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity. These changes indicate a slower glycolytic rate, which helps maintain pH and water-holding capacity—key factors in fresh meat quality.
Importantly, the study revealed that the EF's effect is not merely due to lower temperature. The field appears to influence the molecular environment of glycolytic enzymes, altering their post-translational modifications (PTMs) such as phosphorylation and acetylation. Over time, the treatment shifted enzyme modifications toward reduced phosphorylation and increased acetylation, consistent with slower enzymatic activity. Additionally, protein structure changed dynamically: early on, proteins aggregated, but from 36 to 120 hours, they became smaller, more dispersed, and more ordered, which may contribute to the preservation of muscle tissue integrity.
The authors note that these findings provide a mechanistic foundation for developing EF-assisted cold storage for fresh meat supply chains. By slowing pH decline and conserving ATP, the technology could help protect water-holding capacity, texture, appearance, and overall saleable quality during processing, transport, and retail display. The system's low power consumption (30 watts) also suggests potential for energy-efficient preservation, though commercial benefits were not directly tested.
The research addresses a significant challenge in the meat industry: postmortem glycolysis, which converts glycogen to lactate and causes pH to drop, leading to pale, soft, and exudative meat. Conventional refrigeration slows deterioration, but near-freezing storage offers better preservation, albeit with strict temperature control requirements. Electrostatic fields have previously shown promise in improving water distribution, but their effects on metabolic pathways were unclear.
Future research should validate the causal link between protein structural changes and enzyme PTMs, potentially through molecular dynamics simulations. Larger studies are also needed to assess microbial safety, sensory quality, shelf life, equipment scale-up, temperature fluctuations, operating costs, and performance across different muscles and meat products before industrial adoption.
This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2022YFD2100500) and is published in Food Quality and Safety, an open-access journal with a 2025 Impact Factor of 4.9. For more information, visit the journal's website or the original source: https://doi.org/10.1093/fqsafe/fyag047.
