Effect of Natural Ingredients on Meat and Meat Products

The consumption of natural ingredients is an age-old practice. Our ancestors were aware of the health promoting effects of natural food ingredients since time immemorial. Natural food ingredients are known for their beneficial health effects since antiquity. Valorization of natural ingredients for their inherent potentials like antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, health-promoting activities etc. will make them healthier alternatives to chemical substances in meat and meat products in the years to come. Meat and meat products, due to their perishable nature are very much susceptible to oxidation and quality deterioration (Das et al., 2020). Lipid and protein oxidation of meat during processing and storage is one of the major issues responsible for exerting negative impacts on meat quality and human health. Meat is very much prone to microbial spoilage because of its nutritional compositions like amino acids, water-soluble proteins, fatty acids, almost natural pH, and high-water content, which make it an ideal medium for microbial growth. (Papadochristopoulos et al., 2021). For all the reasons, in order to maintain the consumer’s health, quality of the products and extend the shelf-life meat and meat products, different natural preservatives are added during processing and packaging.