The influence of natural antioxidants on the quality and storage capacity of semi-finished horse meat products

The article is devoted to the influence of natural antioxidants on the quality parameters of meat semi-finished products from horse meat and the microbiological stability of the product during its storage. In solving the set tasks, the standard, generally accepted methods of research were used. Statistical processing of the obtained results and assessment of data reliability were carried out by statistical methods using Microsoft Excel and Statistica (version 12.0). A new antioxidant of natural origin, dihydroquercetin, has been proposed and tested. Effective doses of its application have been established: 0.05 - 0.075% for raw horse fat and 0.075% for semi-finished meat products from horse meat produced with its addition. It has been shown that the administration of dihydroquercetin (Dx) together with ascorbic acid (AA) and tocopherol (Tp) is 10-30% more effective. The effect of dihydroquercetin on the indicators of oxidative spoilage in the technological process, from the production of horse meat to finished products using the latter, has been studied. The organoleptic parameters (appearance, odour, colour) of the control sample and the sample with 0.025% Dx by fat weight corresponded in their characteristics to the experimental samples with 0.05%, 0.075% and 0.1% by 45 days of storage. The introduction of dihydroquercetin, ascorbic acid, and tocopherol also makes it possible to slow down the microbiological spoilage of the semi-finished products that have been obtained during storage.