Treatment optimisation and sample preparation for the evaluation of lipid oxidation in various meats through TBARs assays before analysis

The aim of this work was to evaluate the critical points while using a TBARs test to measure the lipid oxidation in meat samples; this method includes a distillation method, extracting acid solutions (7% trichloroacetic acid—TCA, 4% perchloric acid—HClO4 and 4 N hydrochloric acid—HCl), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) concentrations and their interactions. The TBARs test method has been evaluated in different animal meat species and in different kinds of meat: fresh, stored, frozen and at different times of defrosting. Moreover, the influence of sample management was evaluated. The best results were obtained after using a distillation and a cold extraction with 7% TCA. The presence of the antioxidant agent (BHT) was essential and was more important in frozen samples than in fresh meat and especially when it was added at negligible concentrations immediately before defrosting, within 2 min of sample withdrawal from the freezer. The general management of the sample requires careful attention, avoiding storage and/or freezing, and lean meat appears to be more susceptible than fatty meat to the oxidative process.