Effects of aging time and natural antioxidants on the color, lipid oxidation and volatiles of irradiated ground beef

Beef rounds aged for one, two, or three weeks after slaughtering were ground added with 0.05% ascorbic acid + 0.01% α-tocopherol or 0.05% ascorbic acid + 0.01% α-tocopherol + 0.01% sesamol, placed on Styrofoam trays and wrapped with oxygen-permeable plastic film, and treated with electron beam irradiation at 0 or 2.5 kGy. The meat samples were displayed under fluorescent light for 7 d at 4 °C. Color, lipid oxidation, volatile analysis, oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) and carbon monoxide (CO) production were determined at 0, 3, and 7 d of storage. Irradiation increased lipid oxidation of ground beef regardless of their aging time and storage period. As aging time increased lipid oxidation increased. Adding sesamol increased the effectiveness of ascorbate and tocopherol combination in reducing lipid oxidation especially as aging and storage time increased. The redness of beef were decreased by irradiation and adding ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol before irradiation was effective in maintaining the redness of irradiated ground beef over the storage period. The combination of ascorbic acid + α-tocopherol to ground beef was more effective in reducing ORP than adding sesamol. Irradiation increased CO production from all ground beef regardless of aging time or additives treatments. Volatile sulfur compounds produced by irradiation at Day 0 disappeared over the storage period. Alcohol greatly increased in all nonirradiated beef, but volatiles aldehydes only in irradiated control beef. Antioxidant treatments were effective in reducing aldehydes in ground beef during storage.