Fatty acid composition changes in meat lipids during low temperature storage

The effect of low‐temp storage on the fatty acid composition of meat lipids was studied. Fat samples were taken from the perirenal and subcutaneous depots of 12 beef carcasses. The samples were divided and one‐half from each carcass were stored at 蜢37C for four months. The fat samples (before and after the low‐temp storage period) were then extracted, the glyceride fractions separated by low‐temp solvent crystallization, and subsequently analyzed by gas‐liquid chromatographic techniques. The data obtained in this study and the changes in fatty acid composition noted were not consistent with the pattern of oxidative deterioration but would appear to indicate that non‐oxidative mechanisms were responsible for the changes in fatty acid composition observed.