Summary

The use of new technologies for obtaining processed meat products and the new tendencies in the consumer demand are the reasons for the observed changes in the salting process. Nowadays, salting is not only done for preserving purposes but also because the development of desirable sensory characteristics for improving the acceptance of the meat products.

A strong demand of the industry exists by fast measurements, accurate and simple that will permit to determine the content of salt in the samples. These they are important to prompt the development of better measuring instruments. Some techniques have been proposed in recent years and they have applied to smoked fish and to different food products.

The objective of this work has been the using of non destructive methods and of useable fast analysis in the cured ham elaboration process. For it has been carried out as a starting point of analysis of the transfer of matter and modification of the structure of the pork (cover) during the processes of salted, by means of employment brines of 5, 15 and 25% of concentration of salt. The analysis of the state of the structure of the meat was carried out in samples of fresh meat, salted and dehydrated (DSC, microstructure and color).

The study of non destructive tools in the control of the salted meat was carried out by means of applying three techniques; the first one was the study of the decision of the ties dielectrics properties of the salted meat as method of analysis and control, the samples of the salted meat was carried out with solid salt and in brines of 5, 15 and 25% during 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours with a coaxial probe and to the commercial frequencies of 0,915 and 2,45 GHz. The technical second consisted of the development and putting of a point to determine the content of salt in pork and commercial cured ham. This technique is based on the measure of the electric conductivity. As third technical it was implemented the measure of density of fresh meat, frozen and salted as indicator of its composition (xw, xg, xNaCl, xproteina).