Meat Color
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
• Very low oxygen tension required
– Typically associated with Vacuum Packaging
• Consumer acceptance of vacuum packaged products?
• Purplish-red or purplish-pink color
Oxymyoglobin
• Heme Fe is Ferrous (Fe++)
• Cut meat exposed to O2
– No change in iron’s valence
• 6th binding site occupied by diatomic oxygen
• Distal histidine interacts with bound O2
– Requires 40 torr partial pressure of O2 (5.25%)
• Alters structure and stability
• Bright Cherry Red color
• As exposure increases-OMb penetrates deeper
– High O2 maintains OMb, but may induce Oxidation reactions
• Unstable formation
• Electron availability
– Stability depends on continuing supply of O2 Oxidative
Metabolism enzymes rapidly use O2
Metmyoglobin
• Oxymyoglobin is very unstable
• Oxidation of ferrous (Fe ) Mb to ferric (Fe )
2+ 3+
• Reasons for Formation of MMb:O levels of 0.2-1.3%
2
– Complete Oxygen Consumption
• Cellular respiration
• Low partial pressures of O2 (5-10mm/ 2.6-5.3%)
• Low MMb reducing rates
• Low Oxygen transmission rates
– Surface contamination
• Aerobic bacteria use up O2
• 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
Age class Myoglobin content
Veal 2 mg/g
Calf 4 mg/g
Young beef 8 mg/g
Old beef 18 mg/g
Species Differences of Myoglobin
Species Color Myoglobin content
Pork Pink 2 mg/g
Lamb Light red 6 mg/g
Beef Cherry red 8 mg/g
Fiber Type Differences
Muscle Fiber Type
Characteristics RED WHITE
Oxidative metabolism High Low
Glycolytic metabolism Low High
Myoglobin content High Low
Reddness High Low
Capillary density High Low
Number of Mitochondria High Low
Mitochondria size Large Small
Lipid content High Low
Glycogen content Low High
Fiber diameter Small Large
Contraction speed Slow Fast
Fatigue resistance High Low
Contractile action Tonic Phasic
Z disk width Large Small
Factors Affecting Meat Color
• Chemical State of Myoglobin
– Ferrous (Fe++)
• H2O Purple Deoxymyoglobin
• O2 Red Oxymyoglobin
• NO Unstable pink Nitric oxide myobglobin
• CO Red Carboxymyoglobin
– Ferric (Fe+++)
• H2O (globin) Brown Metmyoglobin
• H2O (denatured globin) Brown/gray Denatured metmyoglobin
• SH Green Sulfmyoglobin
• H2O2 Green Choleglobin
Color
changes
Sulfmyoglobin
and
Choleglobin
Factors Affecting Meat Color
• Vitamin E feeding of cattle
– Prevents oxidation; retards conversion of myoglobin
to metmyoglobin
• Bacteria
– Produce metmyoglobin, choleglobin, and
sulfmyoglobin pigments
• Curing
– Nitrosylhemochromogen is the stable cured meat
pigment
Vitamin E
Factors Affecting Meat Color
Pre-Harvest Stress
Exposure to long-term or short term stress
• Effects glycogen content of muscle and ultimate pH of muscle
• Long Term Stress: DFD (dark cutter)Transport, Hunger, Fear, Aggression
• Ultimate pH above 5.9 (beef), 6.5 (pork)
• Short Term Stress: PSE Usually only problematic in pork
– Ultimate pH below 5.4
• Generally problem can be overcome with enhancement
Factors Affecting Meat Color
• Packaging
