Potentiation of the Ascorbate Effect in Cured Meat Pigment Development

Salts of EDTA potentiate ascorbate in accelerating development of cured meat pigment both in myoglobin model systems and in laboratory prepared sausage. Iron EDTA is more effective than Na, EDTA or CaEDTA. Although EDTA salts stabilize ascorbates in nitrite solution and in buffered myoglobin solution, in the presence of nitrite plus myoglobin EDTA salts accelerate disappearance of ascorbate. This suggests that the rate limiting step in cured meat pigment synthesis is reduction of metmyoglobin to myoglobin and that EDTA salts catalyze the ascorbate reducing agent effect.