Professor Oren Tirosh
Professor Joseph Kanner
Eylon Asido, P.h.D student
| Category | FoodTech |
| Keywords | Lipid peroxidation; TBARS; Thermal treatment; Meat crust; Antioxidant |
| Current development stage | General list: TRL4 Technology validated in lab |
| Collaboration Opportunity | Licensing of Technology |
Abstract
The researchers found that meat crust — produced by searing beef, turkey, or chicken and ground into a powder — functions as a natural, multifunctional antioxidant when added as a seasoning to consumer meat products, protecting against lipid oxidation while also enhancing roasted, meaty flavor.
Background
One of the main reasons for non-microbial meat product quality deterioration (taste and smell) is lipid peroxidation. Many different processing factors may affect the progression of lipid oxidation, such as handling, prolonged storage, heat treatments like cooking or heating etc. This process continues in the gastrointestinal tract after meat consumption following the absorption of advanced lipid peroxidation end products.
The global meat preservation market size was valued at USD 1.07 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% from 2021 to 2028. In recent years, there has been a growing demand for natural and clean-label meat products, leading to the development of new preservation methods that avoid the use of synthetic preservatives.
Our Innovation
The researchers found that heat-generated crust — formed by searing beef, turkey, or chicken and ground into a powder — functions as a natural, multifunctional antioxidant that protects against lipid peroxidation and extends shelf life, while also enhancing the roasted, meaty flavor of the products it is added to. Notably, the effect is heat-dependent: unlike freeze-dried meat, which showed a pro-oxidant effect, the heated crust actively protects unsaturated fatty acids and suppresses their breakdown.
- The ingredient significantly reduces the accumulation of oxidation products in model food systems, including soybean oil and turkey patties.
- The production of this antioxidant crust is fast and cost effective.
- The crust can be easily added as a ground powder to various foods as a functional seasoning that strengthens roasted, meaty flavor while helping protect fats from oxidation.
- Its dual mechanism inhibits lipid peroxidation while also scavenging reactive carbonyls, the toxic advanced end-products formed during oxidation.
- Similar antioxidant activity was observed in crusts made from beef, turkey, and chicken, and its performance compares favorably with the synthetic antioxidant BHT — supporting a natural, clean-label alternative.
- Sensory evaluation confirmed the crust enhances the flavor of ready-to-eat meat products, supporting development as a dual-function ingredient combining flavor enhancement with oxidative stability.
Technology
The experiment was setup in two stages, the first to create the novel crust using the unique technique and the second to test the crust for its antioxidant properties in the membrane phase (MP), which is the lipid part of meat susceptible to oxidation (lipid peroxidation).
In the first stage, the outer crust from uniquely treated meat patties was isolated (crust), and the middle of the beef patties (MB) was also isolated as a control for the meat.
In the second stage, the membrane phase (MP) of ground meat from turkey and entrecote meat was extracted and tested in vitro either alone, with the addition of either Catechin (a known antioxidant), the crust (our novel antioxidant) or with the MB as control.
In the following graph we evaluate the antioxidant properties effect of the unique crust preservative. Lipid peroxidation accumulation was quantified by Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) method, which utilizes Malondialdehyde (MDA) – a well-known lipid peroxidation indicator.
The graphs indicate that under the Oxidation System (OS) the crust acts as an antioxidant and additional results (not shown) indicate a dose dependent response.
Fig. 1. Evaluation of antioxidant properties of the Crust. MDA accumulation within 60 minutes with catechin, crust, and MB (A). Differences were considered significant at p 0.05 and indicated by different letters.
Follow-up experiments extended these findings to soybean oil and turkey-patty model systems and identified a dual mechanism of action: inhibition of lipid peroxidation together with scavenging of reactive carbonyls, the toxic advanced end-products formed during oxidation. Antioxidant activity was consistent across crusts derived from beef, turkey, and chicken, and performance was benchmarked against the synthetic antioxidant BHT. By contrast, freeze-dried (unheated) meat showed a pro-oxidant effect, confirming that the heating step is essential to the crust’s protective activity. Sensory evaluation further showed that the crust enhances the flavor of ready-to-eat meat products, supporting its development as a dual-function ingredient — a natural antioxidant and a flavor-enhancing seasoning.
Opportunity
The researchers are looking for industry partners to sponsor further research and co-development of meat-crust powder as a dual-function ingredient — a natural antioxidant that extends shelf life and suppresses oxidation-based off-flavors, and a flavor-enhancing seasoning for use in products such as hamburgers, meatballs, sauces, soups, stews, prepared meals, meat products, seasoning blends, processed foods, and meat alternatives.Â
Patents & Publications
National Phase: USA, EU, Israel
