Food Biochemistry and Food Processing

13

Biochemistry of Raw Meat

and Poultry

F. Toldrá and M. Reig

293

Background Information
Structure of Muscle
Muscle Composition
Muscle Proteins
Myofibrillar Proteins
Sarcoplasmic Proteins
Connective Tissue Proteins
Nonprotein Compounds
Dipeptides
Free Amino Acids
Muscle and Adipose Tissue Lipids
Triacylglycerols
Phospholipids
Conversion of Muscle to Meat
Factors Affecting Biochemical Characteristics
Effect of Genetics
Genetic Type
Genes
Incidence of Exudative Meats
Effect of the Age and Sex
Effect of the Type of Feed
Carcass Classification
Current Grading Systems
New Grading Systems
Physical Techniques
Biochemical Assay Techniques
Glossary
References

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In recent years there has been a decline in consump-
tion of beef, accompanied by a slight increase in
pork and an increased demand for chicken. There are
many reasons behind these changes including the

consumer concern for safety and health, changes

in demographic characteristics, changes in consumer

life-styles, availability and convenience, price, and

so on (Resurrección 2003). The quality perception

of beef changes depending on the country. So, Amer-

icans are concerned with cholesterol, calorie con-

tent, artificial ingredients, convenience characteris-

tics, and price (Resurrección 2003). In the United

States, this changing demand has influenced the other

meat markets. Beef has been gradually losing mar-

ket share to pork and, especially, chicken (Grunert

1997).

But a significant percentage of meat is used as

raw material for further processing into different

products such as cooked, fermented, and dry-cured

meats. Some of the most well-known meat products

are bacon, cooked ham, fermented and dry-fermented

sausages, and dry-cured ham (Flores and Toldrá

1993, Toldrá, 2002).

The processing meat industry faces various prob-

lems, but one of the most important is the variability

in the quality of meat as a raw material. Genetics,

age and sex, intensive or extensive production sys-

tems, type of feeding and slaughter procedures in-

cluding preslaughter handling, stunning methods,

and postmortem treatment have an influence on im-

portant biochemical traits with a direct effect on the

meat quality and its aptitude as raw material.

STRUCTURE OF MUSCLE

A good knowledge of the structure of muscle is

essential for the use of muscle as meat. The structure

Food Biochemistry and Food Processing

Edited by Y. H. Hui

Copyright © 2006 by Blackwell Publishing