Search

The research in this dissertation focused on determining antioxidant effects of various natural antioxidants in cooked meat systems. Milk mineral (MM), spices, and raisin paste were used in cooked meat systems to verify their potential antioxidant properties. The MM study determined the antioxidant activity of 1.5% MM added to uncured cooked beef meatballs, and possible additive effects of MM in combination with 20-ppm or 40-ppm sodium nitrate in cooked beef sausages . There was no additive inhibition of lipid oxidation in samples containing 20-ppm or 40-ppm sodium nitrite plus 1.5% MM. Cooked meat yield was not different between control meatballs and those containing MM. As expected, treatments containing nitrite had higher redness (a*) values than samples without nitrite. The MM at 1.5% was a very effective antioxidant as compared to controls. The Garam Masala (GM) study determined the antioxidant effects and sensory attributes of the individual spices in an Indian spice blend GM in cooked ground beef, and possible additive antioxidant effects between Type I and Type II antioxidants. All spices had antioxidant effects on cooked ground beef, compared to controls without spices, with cloves being the most effective. All spices at their lowest effective recommended level effectively lowered the perception of rancid odor and rancid flavor in cooked ground beef as compared to control samples. As expected, most spices also imparted distinctive flavors to the cooked ground beef. Type II antioxidants (iron binding phosphate compounds) were more effective than individual Type I antioxidants (spices and butylated hydroxytoluene; BHT) in cooked ground beef. There was a positive additive antioxidant effect seen with rosemary + MM and rosemary + sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) treatments as compared to individual rosemary treatment. There was no additive antioxidant effect observed for other combinations of spices with phosphate antioxidants. The raisin study was done to determine the antioxidant activity of raisin paste added to cooked ground beef, pork, and chicken. Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values were measured using the distillation method, on the distillates, to avoid interference from sugar in the raisins. Beef, pork, and chicken flavor intensity, rancid flavor intensity, and raisin flavor intensity were evaluated by a trained sensory panel (n = 6). Addition of 2% raisin paste effectively inhibited rancid flavor development for 14 days after cooking in cooked ground beef, pork, and chicken. Sugar added at levels equivalent to that contributed by the raisins inhibited rancidity, probably due to antioxidant effects of Maillard browning products, suggesting that the antioxidant effect of raisins was due to their sugar content.

This study compared the effects of 1.4 or 2.7% sodium levulinate or sodium lactate on aerobic plate count (APC), color, pH, and TBA value of fresh pork and turkey sausage. Both sodium lactate and Jevulinate inhibited growth of aerobic microorganisms during storage, compared to controls. Bacteriostatic effects of sodium lactate were dose dependent, wherein 2.7% lactate was significantly more antimicrobial than 1.4% lactate. This was not the case for sodium levulinate, where 1.4% sodium levulinate was as inhibitory to microbial growth as 2.7% sodium levulinate. Additionally, 1.4% sodium levulinate was as inhibitory to microbial growth as the higher level (2.7%) of sodium lactate. TBA values, color, and pH were not affected by treatment with sodium lactate or levulinate. In conclusion, sodium levulinate may have potential as an antimicrobial agent in fresh sausages if it can be obtained at a reasonable cost on a commercial basis.