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Chemical Composition of Meat and Quality - 1

Meat is primarily composed of water (60-70%), protein (10-20%), fat (4-20%), and ash (1%), with variations based on fat content. The document details the types of proteins in meat, including sarcoplasmic, myofibrillar, and connective tissue proteins, as well as the role of fat in flavor and tenderness. Additionally, it discusses rigor mortis, its significance in meat quality, and factors influencing its onset after slaughter.

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Saloman Behera
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16 views4 pages

Chemical Composition of Meat and Quality - 1

Meat is primarily composed of water (60-70%), protein (10-20%), fat (4-20%), and ash (1%), with variations based on fat content. The document details the types of proteins in meat, including sarcoplasmic, myofibrillar, and connective tissue proteins, as well as the role of fat in flavor and tenderness. Additionally, it discusses rigor mortis, its significance in meat quality, and factors influencing its onset after slaughter.

Uploaded by

Saloman Behera
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF MEAT AND QUALITY

In general , meat is composed of 60 – 70 % water , 10 – 20 % protein , 4 – 20 % fat and 1 %


ash . there will be some exceptions to the above
compositional ranges . in that moisture content could be as low as 40 % in raw materials that
are high in fat likewise , the fat content could be as high as 50 % in fatter meat cuts .
Moisture :
Water is the largest components , comprising 70 % of lean tissues . there is relatively consistent
relationship between the moisture and the protein content of muscle . this means that one part
of muscle protein can typically bind or hold about 3.5 to 3.7 parts of water ( moisture : protein
ratio 3.5 – 3.7 ) . as fat content of muscle increases or decreases , the content of moisture and
protein combined will shift in the possible direction .
There are 3 forms of water in meat …
1- is the bound which is a small amount ( 5 – 10 g / 100 g protein = 4 – 5 % of total water )
.and is held very tightly by the charged hydrophilic groups on the muscle protein even during
application of severe mechanical or physical force .
2- is the immobilized water which forms 2 – 3 molecule layer attracted to the bound water
molecules around protein groups ( 50 – 60 g / 100 g protein ) , and become successively weaker
as the distance from the reactive group on the protein becomes greater .
3- is the free water ( 300 g / 100 g protein ) which is loosely held and very dependent upon
capillary space between and within muscle proteins
Muscle protein :
Meat is an excellent source of high quality protein which is the most important component of
meat products . product costs are largely based upon the quantity of meat protein in their
formulations . on the basis of its location , meat proteins can be divided into the sarcoplasmic
, Myofibrillar and connective tissues protein .
Sarcoplasmic " plasma" protein :
The sarcoplasmic "soluble" protein make about 25 – 35 % of the total muscle protein . they are
soluble in water , and easily lost through improper processing procedures e.g. thawing frozen
meat through normal commercial practice ( commonly observed as drip , seen in the bottom of
bins or tanks of thawing meat ) . these proteins are often discarded in the meat industry , because
of the assumption that they are blood . they contain albumins as myoglobin ( 1 % of the total
muscle protein ) which is responsible for meat color .
Meat color is largely due to the water – soluble protein " myoglobin" . the difference in
myoglobin concentration is the reason why there is often one muscle group lighter or darker
than another in the same carcass . the concentration of myoglobin in meat is affected by species
and age of the animals as well as the type of muscle fibers . beef has more myoglobin than pork
,veal or lamb , thus giving beef a more intense color . the maturity of the animals also influences
pigments intensity , with older animals having darker pigmentation .
Myofibrillar " structural / contractile " protein :
Myofibrillar proteins consists about 55 % of the total muscle protein they are responsible for
muscle rigidity . Myofibrillar proteins are composed of myosin (55%) , actin , troponin and
tropomyosin ( 40- 45% ) .
Connective tissue " stromal" protein :
The connective tissue of muscle comprises 10 – 15 % of total muscle proteins , and composed
mainly of collagen and elastin . collagen is the most common connective tissue protein in meat
, it forms a fibrous network .

Fat :
Fat is the most variable component in meat in terms of compositions ( 8 – 30 % ) . fats
accumulate in and around the muscles ( 70 % of fat is subcutaneous or intramuscular ). about
90% of adipose tissues is triglycerides . triglycerides consist of one molecule of glycerol and
several types of fatty acids .
In the animal body there are subcutaneous fat deposit ( under the skin ) and fat ( intramuscular
fat ) . fat deposit between the fibers of a muscle bundles are called intramuscular fat and lead
in higher accumulations to marbling . marbling of muscle meat contributes to tenderness and
flavor of meat . for processed meat products , fat are added to make products softer and also
for taste and flavor improvement . buffalo fat has a whiter color than beef fat and is therefore
well suited for processing . the limiting factors for utilization of beef / buffalo fat is it is limited
availability , as beef / buffalo carcasses do not provide high quantities of body fats suitable for
the manufacture of meat products .
The main value of chemical composition of meat for different food animals.
Proteins : 1- Myofibrillar ( actin , myosin , actinomyosin ) .
` 2- sarcoplasmic ( myoglobin , hemoglobin , enzyme ) .
3- connective tissue and organelles ( collagen , elastin , reticulin , mitochondria ).
Lipids :
Nature lipids , fatty acids , phospholipids .
Carbohydrate : Glucose , glycogen , lactic acid , formic acid .
Vitamins : Fat soluble ( a,e,d,k ) . Water soluble ( c , B complex ) . Note : large quantities of
vit. Destroyed during cooking or processing .
Soluble non-protein substances :
1- nitrogenous substance (free amino acid ) which responsible of flavor creatinin .
2- inorganic mineral ( soluble phosphor , zinc , calcium , sodium , magnesium ) with trace
elements .
Nutritional value of meat :
1- high protein which require for growth and rebuilding and production or energy and heat
2- meat contains nitrogenous substance rich with amino acid essential for human life .
3- contain important vit. Such as thymine , niacin , B complex .
4- meat contain or rich of iron and phosphorus .
Slaughter animals:
Its mean animals brought into an abattoir for slaughter & used for public human consumption.
theoretically human needs animals for supplying meat fit for human consumption. in practice
only a relatively small numbers of species are used today in many parts of the world. horse
flesh forms an important article of human diets and slaughter in Denmark, Belgium, Holland,
England and Germany.
Nowadays, the production and consumption of the poultry meat and rabbits has extremely
increased after the recent improvement in feed conversion rate and their quick turnover rabbits
from subsidiary, but important source of meat because of their quick turnover and feed
conversion rate 2:1.
A great advantage of rabbits as meat producer is its high muscle/bone ratio due to 70% of the
carcasses is composed of edible meat as compared with about 50% in the chicken.
Rigor mortis or setting “post-mortem glycolysis”.
Rigor mortis is a state of reaction occurs after slaughter " death " as a result of excessive
muscular contraction and exhaustion of oxidative enzymatic system and accumulation of
metabolic products " lactic acid " resulting in coagulation of the muscle protein actin and
myosin where the muscles and joints become stiff known as post-mortem rigidity or setting of
the carcass.
Rigor mortis start in normal cases 2-3 hours P.M and stays for 1-6 days then disappears due to
softening of coagulated actinomyosin. by the autolytic enzyme when actins become soluble.
muscles in rigor mortis show Harding, stiffing, shortening, loss in elasticity and loss in
transparency. the time of onset of rigor mortis dependent upon the speed of breakdown of ATP
and the development of glycolysis.
Factor influencing rigor mortis …
1- Degree of muscular activity before slaughter, the stronger and the high activity of
muscle during lives lead to rapid rigor mortis.
2- The health of the animal, glycogen may be lowered as a result of antemortem starvation,
diseases or physical stress.
3- The atmospheric temperature, high temp. accelerates the appearance of rigor mortis,
while low temp. cold retard it.
Significance of rigor mortis …
1- it plays an important role in the keeping quality of meat as the acid reaction reduces the
multiplication of bacteria , thus retards the putrefaction of meat .
2- it renders the meat more tender and palatable , the reaction of muscle after slaughter is
slightly alkaline , ( after 3 – 6 hours it becomes acidic due to the formation of lactic
acid , formic acid which cause swelling and loosening of connective tissues ) .
3- rigor mortis is one of the keeping quality parameters .
4- rigor mortis can determine the degree of keeping quality of meat through measuring "
rigor mortis "

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