Color and Pigment

Color is an important quality trait influencing consumers' meat purchase decisions. Myoglobin is the sarcoplasmic heme protein primarily responsible for the color of meat. The biochemistry of globin chain, redox state of heme iron, and the ligand bound to the sixth coordinate of heme iron govern the color of raw, cooked, and cured meats. Furthermore, the amino acid sequence of myoglobin influences its interactions with small biomolecules and biochemical attributes such as autoxidation, heme retention, thermostability, and oxygen affinity. Meat industry exploits packaging and antioxidant strategies to manipulate myoglobin chemistry and thus improve the meat color.