Spoilage of fresh meat and poultry is a financial burden to producers and consumers. In addition, the growing avoidance of synthetics for preservation has driven the development of new antimicrobials and antioxidant ingredients to extend the shelf-life and overall safety and quality of the meat.
In turn, synthetic preservatives, such as butylated hydroxylanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxyltoluene (BHT) and tertiary butylhydroquinone (THBQ) — used to reduce microbial growth and thereby extend the shelf-life of meat — have become unwelcome ingredients, says Kantha Shelke, food scientist and principal at Corvus Blue, in Chicago.