The color of cured meat is generally recognized as an important factor in the determination o€ its market value even though it has not been demonstrated that the color actually affects the quality of the product.Since the work of Haldane (1901), Hoaglund (1914), Giinther (1921), and Urbaiii and Jensen (1940), it has been known that the red pigments of cured meat, nitric oxide myohemoglobin and nitric oxide hemoglobin, are formed by the myohemoglobin or hemoglobin respectively in the meat muscle, and the nitrite of the curing pickle. That the quality and uniformity of the color developed in the meat by this reaction is affected by other factors has been definitely established. The following list contains the known or suspected factors influencing the color development in cured meat :1. Nitrite absorbed by the meat. (Enough nitrite must be present to form suffieient nitrie oxide myohemoglobin to give a desirable color.) 2. Amount of myohemoglobin or hemoglobin in the tissue. (Enough myohemoglobin or hemoglobin must be present to produce a desirable color shade after the reaction with nitrite.) 3. Microorganisms. (Effect of nitrate reducing bacteria is important in nitrate cures in producing suijicient nitrite for the pigment reaction. Secondary effects of microorganisms in nitrite ewes are rather obscure, but probably may enhance the reaction by helping to maintain reducing conditions or hinder reaction by oxidizing meat pigments.) 4. Sugars in the presence of microorganisms. (Sucrose is converted t o reducing sugars by microorganisms which help maintain the reducing conditions in the meat necessary for normal nitric oxide myohemoglobin formation.) 5. Atmospheric oxygen. (May affect the color by oxidizing nitric oxide myohemoglobin to the brown pigment metmyohemoglobin.) 6. Ionic concentration of the pickle solution. (May speed up oxidation by lowering the pH.) 7. Oxidation-reduction potential of the meat. (Normally, the reducing conditions necessary for proper formation of nitric oxide myohemoglobin are present in the meat.) 8. Structure of the meat muscle. (Structure and arrangement of the muscle fibers may give slightly different optical properties and produce color differences.) 9. Temperature of curing. (Influence obscure; however, indirectly high temperature is an undesirable factor, since it favors accelerated bacterial growth.) 10. Desiccation. (Affects optical properties of the meat [reflection, etc.] and so affects color.) 11. pH. (Has effect on speed of nitrite-myohemoglobin reaction. Controversial evidence regarding effect on color.)
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