MEAT+POULTRY - January 2025 - 68

INGREDIENT ISSUES
of the primary causes of quality deterioration
in cooked, refrigerated and pre-cooked frozen
meat products.
Natural
antioxidants
include rosemary,
acerola cherry and
green tea extracts
The most common solution is the addition
of antioxidants, which protect PUFA from
oxidation by sacrificing themselves to the
oxidation process. Artificial preservatives
such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA),
butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and tertiary
butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) function as
antioxidants and have long been the standard
to ensure an economically sensible shelf-life
for fully cooked and packaged meat products.
Use of these ingredients is going away
as processors replace them with more
label-friendly options, such
as tocopherols, a class of
vitamin E with powerful
antioxidative properties.
Tocopherols have long
been used as a natural
shelf-life extender in
many products and have
application in raw meat.
Inclusion can be cleanly
identified on ingredient
statements as vitamin E or
mixed tocopherols, usually
with a parenthetical explanation
of being added to maintain freshness,
so as not to be confused with inclusion for
fortification or nutrition profile enhancement.
" Oxidation and WOF can be a common
issue, particularly in precooked and frozen
meats, where flavor degradation becomes
evident during reheating or extended storage, "
Ratz said. " Wixon offers a host of proprietary
solutions that retard the impact of lipid
oxidation. These antioxidant solutions can
be customized for the specific meat and
processing applications.
" With an average usage of 0.15% in finished
product, many manufacturers find value in
Wixon integrating shelf life extension solutions
(natural antioxidants) directly into their flavor
systems, creating a custom, streamlined, costeffective
approach. "
Many such natural antioxidants are
plant-based extracts. Rosemary and green
tea extracts, for example, may assist with
conserving the appearance, taste and quality
of raw and cooked meat products, both
refrigerated and frozen. Carefully selected
68 MEAT+POULTRY | 01.25 | www.meatpoultry.com
plant breeds enable production of the most
potent extracts. Suppliers blend the extracts
into the most effective combination for a
specific application and desired shelf-life.
At the molecular level, rosemary extract
and green tea extract have similar functionality.
Both contain phenolic compounds that
function as antioxidants, preventing oxidative
breakdown of meat pigments by being oxidized
themselves. Their active components exhibit
chain-breaking antioxidant activity. The main
difference is that green tea extract has a
lower negative flavor contribution to the final
product. Thus, using a lower level of rosemary
extract in combination with green tea extract
allows the manufacturer to increase the natural
plant extract usage rate, often resulting in an
extract blend that performs better than using
rosemary alone.
There are fruit-based extracts that exert
antioxidative function in meat and poultry.
Acerola extract (cherry powder), for example,
boasts high levels of antioxidant vitamin C.
Select plum ingredients contain antioxidants
along with concentrated levels of organic
acids that have been shown to assist with
reducing WOF.
" Corbion has a line of nature-based
antioxidants comprised of rosemary and
acerola cherry solutions that inhibit the
reactions that can lead to rancid odor and
taste, " said Ames. " If it's pathogens or spoilage
bacteria, our antimicrobial products like our
vinegars, lactic acid derivatives and ferments
can extend the lag phase and stall microbial
replication. For molds, we do much the
same. The result of this is a predictable delay
in spoilage. "
One of IFF's partners faced significant
product returns and waste due to a limited
shelf life of five to seven days for their meat
products. By using one of the solutions from
the company's plant extract range, quality was
extended to more than 15 days.
" This allowed the product to remain
on supermarket shelves for an additional
weekend, reducing product waste by an
impressive 85%, " said Ortiz Osorio. " This
not only saved millions on lost inventory
but also ensured that more of their products
reached consumers' kitchens, helping them
achieve their sustainability goals by reducing
environmental impact. "
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MEAT+POULTRY - January 2025

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