Development of noodles enriched with beef myofibrillar protein with intermediate pH

• Grant number: 24/14102-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Science
• Principal Investigator: Carmen Josefina Contreras Castillo
• Grantee: Paulo Renan Carvalho Afô Navarro
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 17/26667-2 - Beef quality in Bos indicus cattle: biological markers for meat attributes in different ultimate pH ranges, AP.TEM

Abstract

Pasta is a widely consumed food and a good source of carbohydrates, but it generally lacks protein and the full range of amino acids, as well as functional bioactive compounds. Despite its growing popularity, the constant demands of consumers for a healthier lifestyle have encouraged food scientists and industrial producers to go beyond the traditional boundaries of pasta production, researching new and different ingredients for pasta manufacturing. Pasta is an important nutritional source and can also be used as a carrier matrix for other dietary compounds. Protein is necessary to maintain all body processes, providing the structural and functional basis for sustaining life. The occurrence of beef with intermediate pH with tougher meat characteristics represents about 40% of the meat production in the main slaughterhouses in Brazil, mainly in meat from male cattle. The objective of this project is to develop a protein-rich pasta with a good quality index by incorporating intermediate pH beef flour at different levels in the pasta formulation.