Meat Color: ANSC 3404
Meat Color: ANSC 3404
ANSC 3404
Meat Color
• Meat color is very important because it affects
consumer purchase decisions
• Research continues to find ways to improve
the length of time a product stays “bright red”
in the meat case
• The protein responsible for meat color is
myoglobin
Meat Color
• Dependent on
– Pigment content
– Ultimate pH and rate of pH decline postmortem
– Nature of group attached to the iron and the state
of the iron
– Ingredients, processing, packaging
Meat Color – Pigment Content
• Pigments
– Two main pigments: myoglobin and hemoglobin
– Majority of color is due to myoglobin
Myoglobin
• Accepts oxygen from hemoglobin
• Stores oxygen for use by the living muscle
• Contains a globin protein attached to a
porphyrin ring containing a heme iron
• Nature of the group attached to the iron, and
the state (covalent or ionic) of the iron
determines meat color
Carboxymyoglobin
+ CO COMb, Fe++
Deoxymyoglobin CO present
DMb, Fe++
No O2 present
+ O2 – e-
+ O2 Metmyoglobin
+ O2
MMb, Fe+++
Ensymatic
Reduction Low O2 partial
(MRA) pressure
Oxymyoglobin
OMb, Fe++ - O 2 – e-
Atmospheric O2
present
Deoxymyoglobin
• Occurs when no ligand present for binding 6 th
site
• Heme Fe is Ferrous (Fe++)
– Uncut Meat
• Only water present to bind
• Unstable formation
• Electron availability
– Stability depends on continuing supply of O2 Oxidative
Metabolism enzymes rapidly use O2
Metmyoglobin
• Brown Color
• Surface Discoloration MMb located
between superficial OMb and interior DMb
– gradually thickens and moves to surface
Factors Affecting Meat Color
• Amount of myoglobin in the muscle
– Age: Veal<Calf<Young beef<Old beef
• Looses affinity for oxygen as age increases
– Species: Pork<Lamb<Beef
– Type: Support<Locomotive
Quantity of Myoglobin
Veal 2 mg/g
Calf 4 mg/g