Effects of vitamin e on colour evolution, lipid oxidation and fatty acid profile in pork

Abstract

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) enrichment of pork is considered healthy for humans but is also linked to softer fats and pro-oxidant conditions, which can affect shelf-life. Vitamin E (VE) is the most used antioxidant supplement in animal feed, and in the case of pigs, the reference requirements are rather low compared with other species. This work aimed to assess the effects of two doses of VE (30 vs. 300 IU/kg feed) on colour attributes evolution, storage drip losses, lipid oxidation and fatty acid (FA) profile on pork stored up to 15 days under modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).