Effects of ascorbic acid and antioxidants on color, lipid oxidation and volatiles of irradiated ground beef

Beef loins with 3 different aging times after slaughter were ground. added with none, 0.1% ascorbic acid, 0.01% sesamol + 0.01% alpha-tocopherol, or 0.1% ascorbic acid + 0.01% sesamol + 0.01% tocopherol. The meats were packaged in oxygen-permeable bags, irradiated at 2.5 kGy, and color, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), lipid oxidation and volatile profiles were determined. Irradiation decreased the redness of ground beef, and visible color of beef changed from a bright red to a green/brown depending on the age of meat. Addition of ascorbic acid prevented color changes in irradiated beef, and the effect of ascorbic acid became greater as the age of meat or storage time after irradiation increased. The ground beef added with ascorbic acid had lower ORP than control, and the low ORP of meat helped maintaining the heme pigments in reduced form. During aerobic storage, S-volatiles disappeared while volatile aldehydes significantly increased in irradiated beef. Addition of ascorbic acid at 0.1% or sesamol + alpha-tocopherol at each 0.01% level to ground beef prior to irradiation were effective in reducing lipid oxidation and S-volatiles. As storage time increased, however, the antioxidant effect of sesamol + tocopherol in irradiated ground beef was superior to that of ascorbic acid. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.