Effect of natural antioxidant concentration on lipid oxidation of ready to eat ground beef links from cattle fed distillers grains in different phases of production

Abstract

Lipid oxidation occurs most commonly in phospholipids and polyunsaturated fatty acids that will readily undergo free-radical chain reactions resulting in deterioration of the lipid. Lipid oxidation reduces shelf life and decreases overall desirability of the product by increasing the evidence of “warmed over” or “rancid” flavors. The use of plant extracts, such as rosemary or green tea, is becoming increasingly popular in meat processing as a natural antioxidant to increase shelf life of cooked meat products. This becomes particularly beneficial for companies seeking to clean up labels or use “natural” labeling claims for their product. Therefore , the objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of natural rosemary and green tea extract in cooked beef from cattle fed distillers grains. Procedure