Oxidative stability of processed pork. Assay based on ESR-detection of radicals

The tendency to radical formation as an early event in lipid oxidation was used to characterise the oxidative stability of processed pork in an assay based on the spin trapping technique and electron spin resonance (ESR) spec troscopy. Pork cooked at different temperatures was evaluated, and it was f ound that heating at 95 degreesC resulted in higher radical formation than heating at 70 degreesC or at 120 degreesC. The tendency to formation of rad icals (identified as carbon-centered radicals from the hyperfine coupling c onstants) was found to correlate with the rate of oxygen depletion as measu red electrochemically, and the ESR assay should be further explored as a to ol for the prediction of oxidative stability of meat products.