Formation and regulation strategies for volatile off-flavor compounds in livestock meat, poultry meat, and their products: A comprehensive review

• Published in: Trends in food science & technology 2024-10, Vol.152, p.104689, Article 104689
• Main Authors: Ren, Yue, Wang, Yilin, Zhang, Yuxin, Yang, Zhongshuai, Ma, Zhiming, Chen, Jiaxin, Chen, Xintong, Qiu, Zecheng, Tian, Jing, Pu, Aofei, Yin, Junjie, Guo, Mei, Song, Yating, Guo, Jiajun, Feng, Yuqin, Liu, Guishan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Formation mechanism; Livestock and poultry; Off-flavor; Regulation strategies; Smart packaging and blockchain
• ISSN: 0924-2244
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2024.104689

Livestock and poultry and their meat products (LPMP) are significant in providing human nutrients. However, the presence of off-flavors such as boar taint from pork, “mutton” odor from mutton, and so on poses challenges to consumer acceptability. Hence, exploring the sources of off-flavors and ways to reduce off-flavors is particularly vital for the increasing consumption of the market. This review discusses the causes and mechanisms of off-flavor formation, and the physical, chemical, and biological means of off-flavor removal in LPMP are systematically and comprehensively reviewed. Finally, it summarizes the current challenges and prospects of off-flavors control in LPMP. Before slaughter, the off-flavors like boar taint, “grazing” flavor, etc. may be affected by species, sex, and feeding conditions. During the slaughtering, environment, and method may have an influence. Subsequently, handling methods at the stages of cooking and processing, packaging and storage can affect the development of specific off-flavors like “warm” and “rancid” flavors. These off-flavors are primarily attributed to lipid oxidation and degradation, protein oxidation and degradation, and microbial metabolism. Lastly, some novel removal techniques including electrolyzed water, ultrasound thawing, supercritical carbon dioxide, cold plasma, antioxidant active film, microbial fermentation, etc. which have shown good properties in slowing off-odors are summarized. The trend of composite methods, smart technologies, and blockchain is expected to show promising prospects in the future. These can provide certain ideas for the improvement of the quality and the industrial development of LPMP. •The undesirable effects of off-flavors from livestock and poultry are pointed out.•The off-flavors come from the various processes from slaughter to storage of meat.•The formation mechanism of off-flavors from livestock and poultry are summarized.•Some physical, chemical, and biological regulations for off-flavor are analyzed.•The combination of smart packaging and blockchain for off-odor control is promising.