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Title: EFFECT OF VITAMIN C ADDITION TO GROUND BEEF FROM GRASS-FED OR GRAIN-FED SOURCES ON COLOR AND LIPID STABILITY, AND PREDICTION OF FATTY ACID COMPOSITION BY NEAR INFRARED REFLECTANCE ANALYSIS

Author
item REALINI, C.E. - UGA
item DUCKETT, S.K. - UGA
item WINDHAM, WILLIAM

Submitted to: Journal of Meat Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/3/2004
Publication Date: 11/1/2004
Citation: Realini, C., Duckett, S., Windham, W.R. 2004. Effect of vitamin c addition to ground beef from grass-fed or grain-fed sources on color and lipid stability, and prediction of fatty acid composition by near infrared reflectance analysis. Journal of Meat Science. 64:35-43.

Interpretive Summary: Product shelf-life is an increasing concern for the beef industry, which has become more consumer than production driven in both domestic and international markets. Lipid and muscle pigment oxidation are the major problems causing shelf-life quality deterioration in meat. Lipid oxidation is responsible for the development of off-odors and off-flavors; and muscle pigment oxidation affects lean color, which is of critical importance in consumer purchase decisions for fresh meat. In this study we evaluated the effect of vitamin C addition to ground beef from grass-fed or grain-fed cattle on color and lipid stability during 8 days of illuminated display in a retail cabinet. Addition of vitamin C was effective in retarding the change in meat color in ground beef from both grain-fed and grass-fed cattle. It also reduced lipid oxidation in grain-fed ground beef samples. The addition of vitamin C to ground beef may be used to reduce discoloration discounts at the retail level and possibly result in added value to the U.S. beef industry.

Technical Abstract: Research was conducted to determine the effect of postmortem vitamin C addition (VITC) versus no VITC (CONTROL) to ground beef from grass-fed (GRASS) or grain-fed (GRAIN) sources on color and lipid stability during 8 d of illuminated display at 4°C. The use of near infrared reflectance (NIR) spectroscopy to predict the fatty acid composition of ground beef and its potential to discriminate samples from different nutritional backgrounds were also evaluated. Total fatty acid content of ground beef was 53% lower (P < 0.05) for GRASS than GRAIN. Ground beef from GRASS had greater (P < 0.01) percentages of saturated (SFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids, and lower (P < 0.01) percentages of monounsaturated (MUFA) fatty acids than GRAIN. For GRAIN, VITC reduced (P < 0.01) lipid oxidation, and resulted in darker (P ¿ 0.01) and redder (P ¿ 0.01) color of the ground beef from 2 to 8 d of display compared to CONTROL VITC improved (P ¿ 0.01) color stability by prolonging more red color in GRASS during 8 d of display. Results from partial least squares modeling showed accurate predictions using NIR for total saturated ¿standard error of performance (SEP = 1.16 %), coefficient of determination on the validation set (r2 = 0.87)¿ and unsaturated (SEP = 1.18 % and r2 = 0.90) fatty acid contents of ground beef, as well as the composition of stearic, oleic, and linolenic (SEP = 1.2, 1.27, and 0.07 %; r2 = 0.91, 0.92, and 0.93, respectively). VITC was effective in retarding pigment oxidation in ground beef from both GRAIN and GRASS; NIR can be used to predict accurately the content of total saturated and unsaturated, and stearic, oleic, and linolenic fatty acids in ground beef.