Reducing oxidation of meat

摘要

Preventing spoilage will always remain of great interest to the meat industry. Emphasis is often placed on the prevention of microbial spoilage, but chemical deterioration, of which oxidative spoilage is most important, remains a problem. Oxidative deterioration can take place before and after cooking. The development of warmed-over flavor (WOF) in cooked meat products which are subsequently stored refrigerated has been thoroughly investigated and is quite well understood (Younathan, 1985), and the thorough review on WOF published 18 years ago in this magazine is still relevant (Vercellotti, 1988). WOF is the rapid onset of rancidity in cooked meat during refrigerated storage (Tims and Watts, 1958) and is an undesirable sensory characteristic reminiscent of the smell of paint or wet cardboard (St. Angeloetal, 1988).