ABSTRACT
The organoleptic attribute of meat that more directly inŽuences the consumer’s choice is certainly the visual appearance. This is because it represents the ‘rst characteristic impacting on the end user and acts as a strong selecting ‘lter, being perceived prior to other qualities, such as odors, Žavors, or texture. In particular, other than shape, bones, fat, and lean tissues distribution, together with their chromatic characteristics are normally associated by the consumer to wholesomeness or freshness and color alterations are commonly considered as indicators of poor quality or hygienic problems. The relapses on the food industry economy strongly contributed to the carrying out of several studies to understand in detail what inŽuences color in different kinds of meat and in different conditions of production, processing, and storing. The understandings achieved have led to improvements in the meat chain or to technological countermeasures aimed to avoid or limit problems associated to discoloration.
