The effect of sterilization modes used for pork preserved in polymeric consumer packaging on the destruction of fatty acids

The article is devoted to solving an actual problem aiming at substantiating the rational modes of sterilization of preserved meat in order to minimize destructive effects on the main components of the products, including fats. The authors emphasized mainly on the change of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) more specifically, essential fatty acids, which are under the close attention of researchers, both in our country and abroad. Particular attention is paid to the influence of sterilization modes on changes in the quality composition of fatty acids of meat lump in preserved pork. The article summarizes the new material on the effect of sterilization modes of preserved food on the degree of hydrothermal destruction of fat and the formation of free fatty acids on the total content of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. In this article, the approach for assessing the degree of destruction of the fat component of preserved meat from the point of separation of volatile substances, the content of which, as studies have shown, either decreases with sterilization, is completely destroyed, or increases after sterilization. It is established that most of the compounds, the proportion of which decreases with sterilization, belongs to the class of carboxylic acids, including heptadecanoic, decanoic, eicosanoic and octanoic acids. The idea is that the main factors influencing the change in the initial chemical composition of the product lipids are the presence of moisture in the raw food, the sterilization temperature and the pressure. It is shown that the free fatty acids identified in the raw food: arachidonic acid and hexane are absent in the finished product. As a research task, the authors evaluated the effect of gentle sterilization modes on the safety of oleic acid, which can inhibit the formation of cholesterol plaques in the blood vessels, preventing the development of atherosclerosis. A small amount of nervonic acid was found with a dietary value. It was shown that irrespective of the sterilization modes, γ-linolenic acid was preserved, which contributes to the strengthening of the structure of cell membranes. In conclusion, analysis results obtained indicated a shallow destructive change in the fat content of the preserved food under the influence of gentle thermal loads.