2. Material and methods
2.1. Raw material
Four Longissimus dorsi muscles were obtained from 1-
year-old British breed steers at 48 h post slaughter. Muscles
were trimmed free of fat, vacuum packaged in laminated
bags (Cryovac BB4L, Grace SA, Barcelona, Spain) and
kept for 72 h at 2 C until treatment. The average meat
pH was 5.5 ± 0.0, its moisture content, 73.9 ± 0.2% and
its protein content, 22.5 ± 1.3%. The average microbial
counts in raw muscles (whole pieces) were 3.53 ± 0.23
and 2.68 ± 0.08 (log10 CFU g1), for aerobic total count
at 30 C (ATC) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB), respectively.
Enterobacteriaceae count was under the detection
limit (