(Invited) Electroanalytical Meat Science

Meat color is a crucial factor that drives consumers’ purchase decisions at the point of sale. Consumers prefer the bright-cherry red color of beef. A recent study from our research team reported that the US beef industry loses $3.7 billion annually, and 400 million pounds of beef/animal protein is discarded due to meat discoloration (brown color), raising concerns over food security, the economy, and the environment. The red color of meat is strongly associated with the ratio of oxymyoglobin to metmyoglobin. This presentation will discuss our innovative use of electrochemistry to understand the redox signals of meat discoloration covering purified myoglobin protein, various species types, and sarcoplasmic extract studies. The knowledge gained from our research is expected to allow the implementation of new electroanalytical tools useful for meat and food science fields.