Recently, the Meat Science and Nutrition Innovation Team, Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), conducted research to identify the types of aroma compounds, typical hazardous compounds known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and heterocyclic amines (HAAs), and their interactions with each other in roasted meat products, which established a theoretical basis for synergistic regulation of aroma and hazardous compounds in roasted meat products. The research findings were published in the food field top journal    Food Chemistry    (JCR 1, IF: 8.8).

Roasted meat is widely favored by consumers for its attractive flavor. However, the formation of their attractive flavor is often accompanied by the formation of some health risk compounds, such as HAAs and AGEs. In this study, a comprehensive analysis was conducted using HS-SPME/GC-MS in conjunction with HS-SPME/GC-MS/O to identify a total of 25 roasted meat products derived from 6 distinct breeds. The aroma compounds in roasted meat products identified as significant contributors included nonanal, hexanal, octanal, benzaldehyde, 1-octen-3-ol, methyl mercaptan, ethyl acetate, dimethyl trisulphide, 2,5-dimethyl pyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methylpyrazine, 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine, and 2-pentyl furan, all of which had odor-activity values exceeding 1 N^ε-carboxymethyl lysine (CML) and N^ε-carboxyethyl lysine (CEL) were identified as representative AGEs of meats with high concentrations. Harman and Norharman were typical HAAs. The results of multivariate statistical analyses showed that aldehydes and alcohols (such as hexanal, nonanal, 1-octen-3-ol) in roasted meat products were negatively correlated with CML, CEL and MG-H1 (p<0.01). Conversely, a positive correlation was seen between nonanal, octanal, and benzaldehyde and the levels of the heterocyclic amines Harman and Norharman. Furthermore, the identification of dimethyl trisulphide and pyrazine compounds were identified as key factors accelerating the formation of typical hazardous compounds in roasted meat products. Moreover, the detection of significant biomarkers including furfural, 1-hexanol, and 5-methyl-2-furancarboxaldehyde can be employed to distinguish between various types of roasted meat products.

Professor Dequan Zhang and Professor Chunjiang Zhang are the co-corresponding authors. The IFST-WUR program PhD student Haonan Shi is the first author. This study was supported financially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32102019) and the project of Beijing Poultry Innovation Team of Modern Agricultural Industry Technology System (BAIC06-2023-BJJQ-G12).

Qualitative and quantitative assessment of key aroma compounds, advanced glycation end products and heterocyclic amines in different varieties of commercially roasted meat products

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137742