The research in this dissertation focused on determining antioxidant effects of various natural antioxidants in cooked meat systems. Milk mineral (MM), spices, and raisin paste were used in cooked meat systems to verify their potential antioxidant properties. The MM study determined the antioxidant activity of 1.5% MM added to uncured cooked beef meatballs, and possible additive effects of MM in combination with 20-ppm or 40-ppm sodium nitrate in cooked beef sausages . There was no additive inhibition of lipid oxidation in samples containing 20-ppm or 40-ppm sodium nitrite plus 1.5% MM. Cooked meat yield was not different between control meatballs and those containing MM. As expected, treatments containing nitrite had higher redness (a*) values than samples without nitrite. The MM at 1.5% was a very effective antioxidant as compared to controls. The Garam Masala (GM) study determined the antioxidant effects and sensory attributes of the individual spices in an Indian spice blend GM in cooked ground beef, and possible additive antioxidant effects between Type I and Type II antioxidants. All spices had antioxidant effects on cooked ground beef, compared to controls without spices, with cloves being the most effective. All spices at their lowest effective recommended level effectively lowered the perception of rancid odor and rancid flavor in cooked ground beef as compared to control samples. As expected, most spices also imparted distinctive flavors to the cooked ground beef. Type II antioxidants (iron binding phosphate compounds) were more effective than individual Type I antioxidants (spices and butylated hydroxytoluene; BHT) in cooked ground beef. There was a positive additive antioxidant effect seen with rosemary + MM and rosemary + sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) treatments as compared to individual rosemary treatment. There was no additive antioxidant effect observed for other combinations of spices with phosphate antioxidants. The raisin study was done to determine the antioxidant activity of raisin paste added to cooked ground beef, pork, and chicken. Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values were measured using the distillation method, on the distillates, to avoid interference from sugar in the raisins. Beef, pork, and chicken flavor intensity, rancid flavor intensity, and raisin flavor intensity were evaluated by a trained sensory panel (n = 6). Addition of 2% raisin paste effectively inhibited rancid flavor development for 14 days after cooking in cooked ground beef, pork, and chicken. Sugar added at levels equivalent to that contributed by the raisins inhibited rancidity, probably due to antioxidant effects of Maillard browning products, suggesting that the antioxidant effect of raisins was due to their sugar content.

This research project was divided into three parts. In the first part, heme, nonheme, and total iron methodologies for meats were evaluated. The accuracy, precision, and specificity of each method were determined by spike recoveries of heme and nonheme iron, and by analysis of National Institute of Science and Technology standard reference materials. The most reliable and practical methods were then used to determine the total, nonheme, and heme iron contents of various meats before and after cooking. The meats analyzed were beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey. The wet-ashing technique was a novel procedure in which nitric acid was used to digest most of the solids followed by peroxy-monosulfuric acid to complete the digestion. Total iron values of the meats were consistent with those previously reported, but the percentage of heme iron in red meats was much greater than commonly assumed, both before and after cooking. In the second part, the distribution of heme and total iron in heat-processed poultry products was investigated using light and dark chicken meat in the form of deep-flied chicken breasts and legs purchased from fast food restaurants and grocery stores in a ready-to-eat condition. Heme and total iron values were 1.7 ± 0.5 and 6.5 ± 2.0 μg Fe/g meat for light chicken meat and 7.6 ± 1.6 and 19.3 ± 2.2 μg Fe/g for dark chicken meat. Percent heme iron values averaged 29 and 40% for light and dark chicken meat, respectively. In the third and final part, an application for the heme and nonheme iron data assembled above was developed to give dieticians an important tool in dietary formulations designed to maintain iron homeostasis. From the data it is evident that cooked light chicken meat, taken from the breast, would provide the lowest quantity of absorbable iron among the meats investigated and that ground beef, highest in heme iron, would provide the greatest quantity of bioavailable iron. Additional research was performed on processed beef products. Cooked ground beef, frankfurters, beef steak, and roast beef were analyzed for heme and total iron. The different beef products contained similar amounts of total iron, 31.4 to 34.2 μg/g, but the heme iron content ranged from 6.2 μg/g in frankfurters to 36.3 μg/g in beef steak. Percent heme iron ranged from 33.0 to 63.8% in all meats. Total iron, heme iron, and percent heme iron varied significantly (P < 0.01) among meats, sources, and preparations. This research was published and has been reproduced in Appendix F.