Page 20 - Natural Antioxidants, Applications in Foods of Animal Origin

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PREFACE

Many food preservation strategies can be used for the control of oxidation
in foods; however, these quality problems are not yet controlled adequately.
Although synthetic antioxidant agents are approved in many countries,
their excessive use has increased pressure on food manufacturers to either
completely remove these agents or to adopt natural alternatives for the
maintenance or extension of a product´s shelf life. Therefore, the use of
natural safe and effective preservatives is a demand of food consumers and
producers.
Foods of animal origin are one of the key components of our diet supplying
several vital nutrients like protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Fat is one of
the most important nutrients in foods of the animal origin and is composed
of various fatty acids such as saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsatu-
rated fatty acids. Depending upon the nature and origin of foods, propor-
tion of these fatty acids varies. As the amount of unsaturated fatty acids
increases, the animal foods become more vulnerable to oxidation. Oxidation
of fat damages the nutritional and sensory characteristics, particularly flavor
of food products, and thus affects their storage stability. Proteins in animal
foods are also susceptible to the oxidation thus affecting the quality of foods.
Moreover, during processing and storage, food products undergo changes
in their physicochemical characteristics leading to development of oxygen-
ated free radicals which initiate the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids
while destruction of the endogenous antioxidant system. Various approaches
are being applied to minimize the oxidation of these foods such as use of
antioxidants and anaerobic and active packaging.
The search of new safe substances for food preservation is being
performed around the world. Many naturally occurring bioactive compounds
can be considered as good alternatives to synthetic antioxidant food addi-
tives. Natural antioxidants could be extracted from various plant and
animal sources. These are extracted using different approaches and solvents
depending upon feasibility and yield. In foods of animal origin such as
meat and meat products, dairy products, fish and fish products, and poultry
products, natural antioxidants are applied in various forms and ways. As
such, there is no compiled literature on the oxidation of animal products and
approaches for its reduction. In this book, attempts are made to address the