Factors associated with surface iridescence in fresh beef

Kukowski, A. C.; Wulf, D. M.; Shanks, B. C.; Page, J K; Maddock, R. J.

doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2003.08.011

Cited by 16 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…CLSM micrographs of the other muscles (Figure 4) showed similar results with smooth surfaces and well-ordered arrangements of transversal cut fibers toward long axis and irregular surfaces with obliquely cut fibers in noniridescent areas. Scattering and variation in the lightness of meat are also directly related to muscle pH, and Kukowski et al (2004) attributed the variations in iridescence among different beef muscles to pH. In their study, higher iridescence scores were associated with lower ultimate pH values, and Oliver et al (2006) found stronger iridescence in pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) cooked pork hams than in normal cooked pork hams.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…While myoglobin chemistry in both raw and cooked cured meat and pigment-based meat color has been extensively studied, research on the contribution of light scattering to meat color and the special case of structural colors causing meat iridescence has received only little attention. Iridescence is the vivid, rainbow-like shimmer found on the surfaces of raw meat (Kukowski et al, 2004;Olivo R. et al, 2003) as well as on cured and cooked meat products (Fulladosa et al, 2009;Oliver et al, 2006) consisting of intact muscle tissue (Wang, 1991). In contrast to the pigment-based meat color, iridescence arises due to the optical processes scattering, diffraction, and interference (Doucet & Meadows, 2009), and many hypotheses on the underlying physical mechanisms for meat iridescence have been proposed over the last decades.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of muscle type and microstructure on iridescence in cooked, cured pork meat products

Ruedt

Gibis

Weiß

2021

Journal of Food Science

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Microstructural factors associated with surface iridescence in cooked, cured pork products were investigated. Meat iridescence is a commonly observed physical phenomenon in raw meat and meat products that consist of intact muscle tissue. Since the purchase decision of consumers is mainly driven by the first impression of meat color and appearance, products showing colorful iridescence may be rejected. Four different muscles (RF: M. rectus femoris, BF: M. biceps femoris, ST: M. semitendinosus, and LD: M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum) were brine-injected, cooked, sliced, and iridescence was evaluated by digital image analysis and sensory analysis. Sarcomere lengths, fiber diameters, and surface microstructure were analyzed in iridescent and noniridescent sections. Highest iridescence extent by image analysis was found in LD (37.3 ± 16.4%), and highest overall iridescence score (extent and intensity, 6.11 ± 1.78) was observed in BF. Sarcomere lengths did not differ significantly between iridescent (1.05 ± 0.09 µm LD) and noniridescent areas (1.08 ± 0.94 µm LD) within muscles (p > 0.05). Iridescent sections showed smooth and ordered surface structures with cross-sectioned myofibers, whereas in noniridescent sections, surfaces were more unstructured and myofibers obliquely cut. The results of the study indicate that the sarcomere length and fiber diameters may thus be only of minor importance for the explanation of meat iridescence in cooked meat products and are rather related to multiple scattering and absorption effects on smaller structural entities such as the myofilament lattice or larger entities such as fiber bundles.Practical application: Iridescence can be a problem for the meat industry due to consumers concerns about green-iridescent colors in meat. The underlying mechanisms and structures have not yet been fully clarified, and thus no practical solutions to eliminate iridescence have been found so far. This research presents new insights into the structural attributes that are interrelated with meat iridescence and shows that iridescence is rather influenced by cutting angle of muscle fibers and surface homogeneity than by muscle fiber diameters or sarcomere lengths. This should be considered by the industry when seeking for ways to reduce the potential problem of iridescence.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of muscle type and microstructure on iridescence in cooked, cured pork meat products

Ruedt

Gibis

Weiß

2021

Journal of Food Science

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“…Although these structural colours originate purely from a physical interaction of meat structures with light (Kinoshita et al ., 2008), they raise consumer’s concerns about the safety and quality of affected meat products. Since product colour is the most important attribute on which consumers base their quality assessments (Grunert, 1997) and their purchase decision (Kropf, 1980), iridescence overlaying the natural red meat colour often result in a rejection of products (Kukowski et al ., 2004). For example, consumers have mistaken the phenomena with growth of hydrogen peroxide or hydrogen sulphide‐producing microorganisms, for example Pseudomonas spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colour change with longitudinal compression supports hypothesis of multilayer interference as cause for meat iridescence

Ruedt

Gibis

Barbut

et al. 2020

Int J of Food Sci Tech

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The mechanism of iridescence in meat and meat products is still not fully understood but a widely accepted hypothesis is that it originates from a multilayer interference from sarcomere discs. In multilayer interference, the reflected wavelength is affected by the refraction angles, the thicknesses and refractive indices of the intermittent layers. A variation of these factors should therefore cause a disappearance or shift of iridescent colours. To test this hypothesis, we progressively compressed iridescent rolled fillets of ham longitudinal to the long axes of the muscle fibres and measured the interference colours by reflection spectrophotometry. We observed an interference colour shift from longer to shorter wavelengths and reflection intensity decreased with increasing compression pressure. Our data indicate that the compression decreased the layer thickness, so that constructive interference occurred at shorter wavelengths. The results thus provide support for multilayer interference being a primary cause and mechanism for meat iridescence.

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“…Iridescence is an enigmatic aspect of meat color with some practical importance for consumers concerned about green colors in meat. [1][2][3][4] The iridescent colors of meat look very much like interference colors but what causes the interference? Perhaps iridescence originates from refraction due to the different refractive indices of water and fat at the surface; 5 or perhaps it is caused by surface diffraction from myofibrillar serrations; 6 or even pigments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Iridescence in cooked venison – an optical phenomenon

Swatl¹

2018

JNHFE

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Iridescence in single myofibers from roast venison resembled multilayer interference in having multiple spectral peaks that were easily visible under water. The relationship of iridescence to light scattering in roast venison was explored using the weightedordinate method of colorimetry. In iridescent myofibers, a reflectance ratio (400/700 nm) showing wavelength-dependent light scattering was correlated with CIE (Commission International de l'Éclairage) Y%, a measure of overall paleness (r=0.48, P< 0.01). Hence, meat iridescence is an optical phenomenon. The underlying mechanism, subsurface multilayer interference, may be important for meat colorimetry.

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Factors associated with surface iridescence in fresh beef

Cited by 16 publications

References 5 publications

Influence of muscle type and microstructure on iridescence in cooked, cured pork meat products

Influence of muscle type and microstructure on iridescence in cooked, cured pork meat products

Colour change with longitudinal compression supports hypothesis of multilayer interference as cause for meat iridescence

Iridescence in cooked venison – an optical phenomenon

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