The carotenoids and retinoids contained in 33 food items made of meat and meat products were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Compounds were isolated by alkaline hydrolysis and hexane extraction. A nonaqueous reversed-phase column was used to separate carotenoids, and retinoids were determined with a normal-phase silica column. Total β-carotene (all- trans-β-carotene + 15,15′- cis-β-carotene), all- trans-retinol, and its 13- cis-isomer were quantified. The recovery of all- trans-retinol and all- trans-β-carotene added to ground beef (3.4% fat) was 94 and 99%, respectively. The determination limit for each compound was ca. 0.01 μ/g. All- trans-β-carotene and 15,15′- cis-β-carotene, α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, all- trans-retinol, and 13- cis-retinol were present in meat and meat products. Retinol and β-carotene were the predominant compounds in beef traces of α-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin were also present. The all- trans-retinol content of beef ranged from 0.03 μg/g (beef top round) to 0.22 μg/ g (beef brisket). The total β-carotene content was 0.22-0.34 μg/g. High β-carotene levels were found in beef liver (8.7 μ/g) and in cow blood (2.7 μ/g). In pork liver, 540 μg all- trans-retinol and 55 μ 13- cis-retinol per 1 g were found. The content of all- trans-retinol in pork ranged from 0.09 to 0.23 μg/g; carotenoids were not found. Mutton, reindeer, venison, and poultry contained mainly retinoids. Both retinoids and carotenoids were present in other meat products, except for ham and bacon, in which only retinoids were detected.