Stability of Conjugated Linoleic Acid in the muscle of Mongolia Sheep in different Processing

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of food processing conditions on the content of CLA in meat products. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometer combination technique was employed to analyze the effects of irradiation, freezing, heating, and curing preservation on the stability of conjugated linoleic acid(CLA) in the longissimus dorsi(LD) muscles. The muscle samples were selected from 110 carcasses of five-month-old Inner Mongolian Sunite Sheep immediately after slaughter. Results show that 2 kGy γ-radiation decreases the content of CLA when the meat samples are air-packaged and stored at -2℃(P<0.05), but the content of CLA is still stable when the meat samples sterilized by 2 kGy γ-radiation are vacuum-packaged and stored at -2℃ for 30 days. Sterilized by 2 kGy γ-radiation and packaged in vacuum or in air, the content of CLA remain stable when the samples were stored at -18℃ for 45 days. Storage time does not have a significant effect on the content of CLA. Sterilization with UV does not reduce the content of CLA. Low temperature pasteurization(70～72℃, 82～86℃) significantly reduces the content of CLA(P<0.05). During curing preservation, the concentrations of both sodium chloride and sodium nitrite significantly affect the content of CLA(P<0.05). This study contributes to the determination of reasonable parameters in food production and to the preservation of the natural ingredients in meat products.