Consumers draw a subconscious correlation between the redness of meat and its quality and freshness – the redder it is, the fresher customers perceive their meat to be. In light of this, meat and poultry producers rely on the bright, fresh-looking aesthetics of their produce to pull customers in and increase sales.
Meat loses its colour when it is exposed and gains oxygen – a process known as oxidation. Fresh and frozen mince, because of the way it is made, is particularly threatened by the fact it collects oxygen.
“Degradation occurs in ground meats, even during frozen storage, so the key to maintaining freshness in these products is to delay both lipid and myoglobin oxidation,” said Courtney Schwartz, senior marketing communications manager at Kemin Food Technologies.
“To retain the ground meat’s flavour and colour attributes, the entire matrix must be protected. Studies have demonstrated that rosemary and green tea extracts can enhance or protect colour and flavour, as well as increase shelf-life of ground meat products, by providing protection to both the phospholipids (polar) and triglycerides (non-polar) portions of the meat.”
Cherry red meat
A green tea and rosemary extract, produced by Kemin, has been scientifically proven to protect colour and flavour properties in meat. A colour stability study conducted at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln meat lab concluded that meat treated with a rosemary and green tea extract better retained the bright “cherry red” colour of minced beef.
It also concluded that meat manufacturers could maximise profits by purchasing meat at times when the price was right, knowing it could be protected from oxidisation longer using the rosemary and green tea blend.
Kemin Food Technologies is a family-owned company that employs around 2,000 people and operates in more than 90 countries, with manufacturing plants in Belgium, Brazil, China, India, Italy, Singapore, South Africa and the US.