Relationship between muscle antioxidant status, forms of iron, polyunsaturated fatty acids and functionality (retail colour) of meat in lambs

The relationship between muscle vitamin E, forms of iron, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and the redness of meat (retail display) at days 3 to 4 post slaughter from lambs offered 2 different diets was examined. Meat redness was positively related to vitamin E and heme iron and negatively related to total n-3, total n-6 and total PUFA content. However, after adjusting for the effects of vitamin E and heme iron content, there was no indication of any residual relationship between redness at days 3–4 of retail display and total n-3, total n-6 or total PUFA. This indicates that the relationship between PUFA and redness in meat is mediated through the effects of heme iron and vitamin E in the muscle. It appears that the level of highly oxidisable PUFAs in muscle tissues do not play a major role in maintenance of redness at days 3–4 of retail display, but the level of vitamin E and heme iron content are important.