Determination of Quality Characteristics of Pastirma Produced from Different Meat Qualities by Injecting Different Levels of Bromelain

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of bromelain on the quality of pastirma, a traditional Turkish meat product produced by injecting two different doses of 0.015 g/L and 0.03 g/L of bromelain, a pineapple-derived vegetable protease enzyme, into ribeye, topside, and round meats by performing microbiological, physicochemical, instrumental and sensory analyses. Samples were taken at the following stages: after meat preparation, after curing, after the second drying process, after fenugreek drying, on the 0th day of pastirma, and the 30th and 90th days after production. In the study, bromelain doses had an effect on the counts of Enterobacteriaceae in pastirma samples (p < .001), the 0.03 g/L bromelain dose significantly decreased thiobarbituric acid value (TBARS) values and reduced b* value (yellowness), and in the Warner–Bratzler toughness test related to texture, it was found that the dose of 0.015 g/L significantly increased the toughness value, while bromelain injected at a dose of 0.03 g/L brought the toughness value to a lower level than the control group (p < .05). In other analyses, differences were observed depending on the type of meat used in pastirma production, time, and production stages. As a result, it was determined that 0.015 g/L and 0.03 g/L doses of bromelain injected into the meat to be used in pastirma production affected only the number of Enterobacteriaceae in microbiological analyses, TBARS values in physicochemical analyses, only b* value in instrumental color analyses, but did not affect other microbiological, texture, physicochemical, and sensory analysis results.

Cite this article as: Soylu, A., & Gürler, Z. (2026). Determination of quality characteristics of pastirma produced from different meat qualities by injecting different levels of bromelain. Acta Veterinaria Eurasia, 52, 0009, doi: 10.5152/actavet.2026.26009.