Research Progress on the Effect of Muscle Protein Degradation on the Quality of Fermented Meat Products

The long-standing fermented meat products were deeply popular with consumers due to the distinctive flavor and long storage life. From the point of protein degradation in the process of fermentation of meat products and based on the recent researches of fermented meat products, this paper discusses the factors affecting the muscle protein degradation including the function of microbial proteases and endogenous enzymes, and the protein hydrolysis activity of core microorganism. The structure changes of muscle protein during fermentation are analyzed, including secondary and tertiary structure and functional properties of protein. This paper furthermore summarizes how the muscle protein degradation during fermentation improving the texture properties and flavor of the fermented meat products, and deterioration of products due to excessive protein degradation. Finally, the perspectives of the future researches are listed in order to provide some meaningful ideas for the intensive study of the fermentation control of meat products.