Lipid oxidation in meat and meat products—A review

Lipid oxidation is a major cause of deterioration in the quality of meat and meat products. Oxidation can occur in either the stored triglycerides or the tissue phospholipids. Ferric heme pigments have been implicated as the major prooxidants in tissue lipid oxidation. Pigment and lipid oxidation are interrelated, and ferric hemes are believed to promote lipid oxidation. The resulting oxidation destroys the hemes. Nonheme iron and ascorbic acid may also function as prooxidants in meat. Sodium chloride accelerates oxidation of the triglycerides, although the mechanism of salt catalysis is not completely known. Cooked meat undergoes rapid deterioration due to tissue lipid oxidation. The meat pigment in the cured pink ferrous form does not promote the rapid oxidation undergone by cooked uncured meat. Refrigerated and frozen fresh meats are also susceptible to lipid oxidation. Protein denaturation and cross-linking may result from lipid oxidation in stored freeze-dried meat. With increased consumption of prepackaged raw meat and precooked convenience meat items, control of oxidation has become increasingly important. Antioxidants and chelating agents are the most effective inhibitors of lipid oxidation. One of 28 papers presented at the Symposium, “Metal-Catalyzed Lipid Oxidation,” ISF-AOCS World Congress, Chicago, September 1970.