Meat Technology

University of Sargodha

Assignment

Topic:                  Meat Quality 

  
Submitted to:       Dr. Tusneem Kausar 
 
Submitted by:     Ayesha Shafique (17-uglc-603) 
                              Amber Arshad (17-uglc-604) 
                              Aqsa Nasreen (17-uglc-608) 
 
Subject:                Meat Technology(FST-409)

Submission date: 11-02-2021 

 
Programme:        BSc (Hons). Food Science and Technology
(7th semester)
 
            Institution
of Food Science and Nutrition  
                    University of Sargodha, Sargodha

 
 
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  Meat Quality
Introduction:
 Quality is the degree of acceptance of something.
 The sum of characteristics of a given food item that influence the acceptability and preference of that
food by consumer are:

Visual appearance
Smell
Firmness
Juiciness
Tenderness 
Flavour

Visual Identification:
The visual identification of quality meat is based on colour, marbling and waterholding capacity.

Meat color:
 Myoglobin is the principle pigment of meat that is responsible for meat color.
 A diet with high content of iron will result in high amount of myoglobin
 The concentration of myoglobin increases with age so that older animals have darker color than
younger one..
 During the time meat is stored the color changes to a darker brown-color because of the formation of
metmyoglobin.
 When meat is cut and exposed to oxygen in air, it takes about twenty minutes for myoglobin to change
to oxymyoglobin, which is brighter red in color. after sometimes, the meat becomes a browner color
again metmyoglobin formed.
 these colors changes do not make any difference to the taste or texture.
 Meat color varies from uncooked to cooked meat.

In un-cooked meat, pigments are:

1. Myoglobin (Purple red color)
2. Oxymyoglobin (Bright red color)
3. Metmyoglobin (Brown colour)

Temperature affects cooked-meat, pigments are:

1. Globinmyohaemochromogen (meat which is cooked at the temperature of 60°C has dull red color).
2. Globinmyohaemichromogen (meat which is cooked at 70-80°C has grayish brown color).

Water holding capacity:

 The capacity of the meat to retain its water during the application of physical forces is known as water
holding capacity.
 Juiciness and tenderness of meat is affected by amount of water.
 Fresh meat with a good water holding capacity is less prone to shrinkage during processing.
 water holding capacity of meat can be checked by looking the water at the bottom of the package.
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Marbling:
 Marbling is small streaks of fat that are found within the muscle and can be seen in the meat cut. 
 Marbling has a beneficial effect on juiciness and flavour of meat.
 Visibly dectected when the muscle surface is cut.

Smell:
 Another quality factor is smell.
 The product should have a normal smell. 
 This will be different for each of the species (i.e. beef, pork, chicken), but should vary only slightly
within the species.
 Any rancid or strange smelling meat should be avoided.

Firmness:
 Meat should appear firm rather than soft.
 When handling the retail package, it should be firm, but not tough .

Juiciness: 
 Juiciness depends on the amount of water retained in a cooked meat product. 
 Juiciness increases flavour, helps soften meat - making it easier to chew.. 
 Water retention and lipid content determine juiciness. 
 Marbling and fat around edges helps hold in water. 
 Water losses are from evaporation and drip losses. 
 Meat aging can increase water retention and therefore increases juiciness.

Tenderness: 
 Has been linked to several factors, such as the animal's age, sex (male animal have more muscles and
connective tissues, so their meat is tough as compared to female animal, which have more fatty
tissues), and muscle location. 
 One important way to tenderize meat is by aging.
 The optimum temperature requirement for rigor mortis is 14-21°C. If the temperature is more or less
than the optimum temperature the resulting meat will be hard and tough.

Flavor:
 Flavor and aroma are intertwined to create the sensation the consumer has during eating. 
 These perceptions rely on the smell through the nose and on the sensations of salty, sweet, sour and
bitter on the tongue.
 Meat flavor is affected bythe type of species, diet, cooking method and method of preservation (e.g.
smoked or cured).

Pre-slaughter factors and post-slaughter factors affecting meat

quality
Pre-slaughter factors include:
1. Species of the animals from where the meat is taken.
2. Age and Sex.
3. The specific part of the animal from where the meat was derived.
4. Stress on the animal before slaughter.
5. In stress animal pH falls which means the meat is of poor quality.
Post-slaughter factors include:
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Post Mortem Changes in Meat:
The process of converting once living muscle to meat begins soon after the animal has been bled and the
oxygen in the muscles is rapidly exhausted. Impartial bleeding is a major defect that leads to early meat
spoilage.
If animal is in stress during slaughtering, then meat will be of low quality. because due to stress, glycogen
will be converted into lactic acid which will lower the pH of meat, so affecting the quality of meat.
Loss of Homeostasis:
Homeostasis mechanism, a system for the physicologically balanced internal environment which helps the
body to cope up with the stresses of oxygen deficiency, extreme variation in temperature, energy supply,
etc is lost.
The homeostasis is controlled by nervous system which ceases within 4 to 6 minutes after bleeding.
In the absence of blood supply, there is loss of body heat and temperature starts declining

pH decline
The accumulation of lactic acid lowers down the muscle pH which is an important postmortem change
during the conversion of muscle to meat.
The pH decline are variable, being influenced by the species of food animals, various preslaughter factors,
environmental temperature, etc. in most species, a gradual decline continues from approximately pH 7 in
the living muscle during first few hours (5 to 6 hours) and then there is a little drop in the next 15 to 20
hours, giving an ultimate pH in the range of 5.5 to 5.7. the rate of pH decline is enhanced at high
enviornmental temperature.
 PSE (pale, soft and exudative) at low pH
 DFD (dark, firm and dry) at high pH

Both conditions are undesireable

pH and Meat Properties

Rigor Mortis
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Immediately after the animal is killed, the muscles are soft and pliable. As the pH falls, the development of
a stiff and rigid conditions occurs.
Biochemically, it is accompanied by the formation of actomycin.

The optimum temperature requirement for rigor mortis is 14- 21C.

if the temperature is more than the optimum temperature the resulting meat will be hard and tough, and
this condtion is called Heat Rigor.
if the temperature is less than the optimum temperature the resulting meat will be hard and tough, and
this condtion is called Cold Rigor.