Fresh pork begins to deteriorate almost immediately after slaughter as muscle tissue consumes its remaining energy reserves. A new study published in Food Quality and Safety demonstrates that combining an electrostatic field (EF) with controlled freezing-point storage can slow this process at the biochemical level, potentially offering a new method to maintain meat quality during refrigerated transport and storage.
The research, conducted by scientists 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, examined pork muscle stored under conventional refrigeration at 4°C, controlled freezing-point conditions at -1°C, and the same near-freezing conditions with a continuous 12-kilovolt electrostatic field. The team tracked samples from 1.5 to 120 hours postmortem, measuring key metabolites, enzyme activities, and protein structural changes.
Results showed that electrostatic-field-treated pork contained 17.5% less lactate than conventionally refrigerated samples after 120 hours, while glycogen and ATP consumption were approximately 14.9% and 37.3% lower, respectively. The treated samples also retained more pyruvate and showed lower Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity, indicating a slower metabolic cascade that typically leads to pH decline and quality loss.
The study, published on June 2, 2026, with DOI 10.1093/fqsafe/fyag047, also revealed that the electrostatic field altered the structure of sarcoplasmic proteins and reshaped post-translational modifications on glycolytic enzymes. Early exposure promoted larger protein aggregates, but from 36 to 120 hours, proteins became smaller, more dispersed, and more ordered. Enzyme modifications changed with storage time, with the treatment tending to reduce phosphorylation and increase acetylation, consistent with slower glycolytic activity.
"The preservation effect is not simply a consequence of keeping pork colder," the authors stated. "Instead, the EF appears to influence the molecular environment in which glycolytic enzymes operate, changing both protein conformation and the chemical switches that regulate enzyme activity." This time-dependent response offers a possible explanation for the slower conversion of pyruvate into lactate and better retention of cellular energy during storage.
The findings provide a mechanistic foundation for developing electrostatic-field-assisted cold storage for fresh meat supply chains. By slowing pH decline and conserving ATP, the technology may help protect water-holding capacity, texture, appearance, and saleable quality during processing, transport, and retail display. The low-power 30-watt system also suggests potential for energy-conscious preservation, although commercial benefits were not directly tested in this experiment.
Future work should validate the proposed causal link between protein structural changes and enzyme post-translational modifications, including through molecular dynamics simulations. Larger studies should also 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.
The study was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2022YFD2100500). The research is published in Food Quality and Safety, an open access, international, peer-reviewed journal providing a platform for emerging science and technology in the agro-food field.
