Antioxidants in Meat and Meat Products

Dear Colleagues,

Just like other food industries, the meat industry is faced with shifting trends driven by evolving consumer demands. There is a growing need for natural, healthy, and "clean-label" products. However, oxidative reactions are a major cause of degradation of meat and meat products, and along with microbial spoilage, they lead to significant losses for the industry and severely compromise food quality. Therefore, additives are essential for maintaining the characteristics and shelf-life of these products.

Historically, synthetic additives have been used, but their consumption has been linked to health concerns. This has spurred research into natural compounds and extracts that can be used as replacements. These natural alternatives often boast strong antioxidant, antimicrobial, stabilizing, and/or colouring properties. Their main drawback, however, is that they generally have lower stability compared to their synthetic counterparts. To overcome this, encapsulation techniques have been developed, leading to the emergence of novel and potent natural additives. Encapsulation simplifies the incorporation of these compounds into meat and allows for better control over their release rate, ensuring continuous and prolonged effects.

Similarly, a number of emerging technologies have proven to be effective in extracting bioactive compounds from various raw materials. These methods enhance functionality while reducing the need for toxic solvents or expensive, time-consuming procedures. Clean technologies such as supercritical and subcritical fluid extraction, the use of NADESs (Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents), and assisted extraction techniques, such as high-power ultrasound and pulsed electric fields, provide significant benefits for the extraction of bioactive and antioxidant compounds, minimizing their degradation.

In addition to replacing synthetic compounds and extending shelf-life and safety, natural antioxidants and extracts can positively impact human health. Functional meat products can be created that are enriched with health-promoting, antioxidant bioactive compounds. Finally, the use of active packaging, made with antioxidant compounds that are released in a prolonged and controlled manner, has emerged as another strategy to extend the shelf-life of meat and meat products. Consequently, over the last decade, significant research has been devoted to identifying various techniques for developing and applying active packaging in order to limit oxidative processes.

Therefore, it is crucial to identify and comprehensively characterize antioxidants, extracts, and specific phytochemicals that can be used for these purposes. This information is vital for comprehending their mechanisms of action and, consequently, identifying their potential applications in limiting oxidative processes and extending the shelf-life of meat and meat products. We invite researchers to contribute original papers or review articles related to the obtainment, purification, stabilization, and/or application of natural bioactive compounds in meat production, as well as the design and application of innovative and active packaging that promotes the release of antioxidants into food.

Dr. Rubén Domínguez-Valencia
Dr. Mirian Pateiro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antioxidants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• natural antioxidants
• oxidative degradation
• meat shelf-life
• food quality
• functional food
• bioactive compounds
• antioxidant active packaging