Prevention of lipid oxidation in muscle foods by milk proteins and peptides: A review

Muscle foods (especially fresh meat, precooked, and restructured meat products) are highly prone to lipid oxidation, which ultimately leads to certain problems, viz. discoloration, off-flavor, drip losses, loss of essential fatty acids and vitamins, and generation of toxic products. These problems can be minimized with the help of various agents and or techniques such as use of natural/synthetic antioxidants, metal chelating agents, physical conditions, vacuum packaging, and encapsulation techniques. Among these, the role of synthetic antioxidants is quite debatable due to certain health risks to humans. Among the natural molecules, milk proteins and their bioactive peptides offer a promising potential for the meat industry. Various forms of milk proteins and peptides including caseinates, whey proteins, skim milk, and milk co-precipitates can be used to prevent lipid oxidation in meat products either in the form of added ingredients or as edible coatings. However, in addition to prevention of lipid oxidation, they also provide nutritional benefits and improve the technological processing and shelflife of meat and meat products. This review focuses on the utilization, mechanism of action, and efficacy of milk proteins and peptides to inhibit lipid oxidation in muscle food products.