Influence of antioxidants on physicochemical and sensory characteristics of irradiated pork

The physicochemical and sensory characteristics of irradiated pork treated with 4 antioxidants (tert -butylhydroquinone, astaxanthin, vitamin E, tea polyphenols) were studied to reduce off-odor and lipid oxidation of irradiated pork. Pork was soaked in antioxidants solution (2 g/L), aerobically packaged, irradiated at 2.6 kGy, and refrigerated storage for 10 days. Sensory characteristics and some physicochemical parameters such as peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, volatile substances, and scavenging capacity of antioxidants on the hydroxyl radical were analyzed. The result showed that tert-butylhydroquinone could keep sensory characteristics of pork and restrain lipid oxidation during storage time compared with astaxanthin, vitamin E and tea polyphenols. Both tert-butylhydroquinone and vitamin E could effectively decreased contents of volatile compounds. Especially, the scavenging rate of hydroxyl radicals based on tert-butylhydroquinone (0.5 g/L) was 52.5%, higher than other antioxidants, which effectively inhibited the oxidation reaction from hydroxyl radicals in irradiating pork.