Effects of frying and storage on cholesterol oxidation in minced meat products

Abstract

AbstractThe presence of cholesterol oxidation products (COP) in the diet is a health concern for their various known adverse effects. It is important that the generation of COP be assessed during different stages of production, handling, and storage of meats and meat products so that relevant measures can be taken to minimize the production of COP. In a preliminary study, we investigated the content of COP in the lipids of raw meatballs (50% prok+50% beef), prefried meatballs (50% pork +50% beef), raw hamburger (100% beef), and prefried burger (50% pork+50% beef). Six of the common COP, viz 7α‐ and 7β‐hydroxycholesterol, 7‐ketocholesterol, 5α,6α‐epoxycholestanol, 5β,6β‐epoxycholestanol, and cholestanetriol, were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC‐mass spectroscopy. The total content of these COP was in the range of 7 to 10 μg/g lipids in raw meatballs, prefried meat balls, and raw hamburger, after frying these samples for consumption. The prefried hamburger had ca. 8μg/g lipids of the total COP before frying, and this amount increased to 29 μg/g lipids after frying. During the storage of this fried sample, the total COP increased to 42 and 50 μg/g lipids, after 1 and 2 wk of storage, respectively. The results of this study show that freshly prepared meat products are a minor source of COP in the diet. However, if semiprepared frozen meat products are fried once and then stored for future consumption, the levels of COP can increase considerably, and this may be of concern for certain groups of consumers.