Effects of grape seed extract on meat color and premature browning of meat patties in high-oxygen packaging

This study investigated the effects of grape seed extract (GSE) on fresh and cooked meat color and premature browning (PMB) in ground meat patties (85% beef and 15% pork back fat) packaged under high-oxygen modified atmospheres (HiOx-MAP).  The GSE was added to patties at concentrations of 0, 0.10, 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 g kg^–1.  This study evaluated the surface color, pH, lipid oxidation, and total viable counts (TVC) of raw patties, and the internal color and pH of patties cooked to a temperature of 66 or 71°C over 10-day storage at 4°C.  Compared with the control (0 g kg^–1 GSE), GSE improved the color stability (P<0.05) and significantly inhibited the lipid and myoglobin oxidation of raw patties from day 5 to 10, but GSE had no effect (P>0.05) on TVC.  Patties containing 0.50 and 0.75 g kg^–1 GSE cooked to 66°C exhibited greater (P<0.05) interior redness than the control and reduced the PMB of cooked patties in the late storage stage.  These results suggested that 0.50 and 0.75 g kg^–1 GSE can improve fresh meat color and minimize PMB of HiOx-MAP patties.