Pulsed electric field using the needle–needle electrodes for improving the salt diffusion of pork brine salting

Pulsed electric field (PEF), as an emerging nonthermal processing technology, has attracted extensive attention and research in food processing. In the present study, PEF has been approved that has the potential to enhance salt diffusion in pork. In this study, pork lions were pretreated with PEF before being immersed in the brine (5% NaCl [w/w]) at 4°C to investigate the effect of needle–needle PEF pretreatment on pork brine salting. The changes in the weight, moisture, and salt content were detected during the salting process. The effective diffusion coefficient (De) and mass transfer kinetics were calculated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were subsequently used to analyze the microstructure of the pork and the secondary structure of myofibrillar proteins (MPs). The outcomes demonstrated that after brining for 8 h with PEF pretreatment, the weight, moisture, and salt changes increased significantly. The central salt content achieved by 12 h brining after PEF treatment (4.5 kV) is equivalent to that achieved by brining for 20 h without any treatment. The De was raised to 4.0 × 10−10 (PEF) from 3.1 × 10−10 (control). SEM and FTIR results revealed that PEF altered the microstructure of pork and the secondary structure of MP. Our study demonstrated that PEF generated by needle–needle electrodes could effectively promote salt diffusion and shorten salting processing.