Dried plums offer natural antioxidant alternatives for meat

"We found that dried plums, when pureed, actually have a very good antioxidant capacity," said lead researcher, Professor Jimmy Keeton, from Texas A&M.

Interest is growing in plant-derived food additives as replacements to synthetic antioxidants like butylhydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) to slow down the oxidative deterioration of food.

Indeed, according to a 2003 report by Frost and Sullivan, the synthetic antioxidant market is in decline, while natural antioxidants, such as herb extracts (particularly rosemary), tocopherols (vitamin E) and ascorbates (vitamin C) are growing, pushed by easier consumer acceptance and legal requirements for market access.

The new research, funded by the California Dried Plum Board, has looked into the effects of dried plums and plum juice in ready-to-eat meat products, like pre-cooked pork sausages, roast beef and ham, said Keeton, to see which of those products will respond most effectively as antioxidants.

"We found that pre-cooked and uncured products like sausages and roast beef actually respond the best," he said.

Typically, the oxidative deterioration of meat and meat products is caused by the degradation reactions of fats and pigments. Oxidation processes in food can lead to organoleptic deterioration in taste, colour and texture.