ABSTRACT
Meat quality is very important for all segments of the industry from producers to consumers. There are many aspects such as source, cost, ethical factors, religion, production systems and safety that affect meat acceptability by consumers. Other quality factors perceived by consumers are related to sensory characteristics (i.e., color, tenderness and flavor), nutritional properties (i.e., calories, vitamins content, fatty acids profile, etc.) and appearance (i.e., exudation, marbling, amount of fat, etc.). One of the major concerns for consumers is the variability in meat quality; this constitutes a problem to solve within the meat industry. The composition, structure and metabolic status of the muscle have a great influence on numerous chemical and biochemical changes affecting meat quality characteristics such as tenderness in beef or exudation in pork and poultry. This chapter summarizes the chemistry and biochemistry of meat, taking into account how all these factors interact during postmortem stages and thus how they affect the final meat quality. A better understanding of
these reactions and changes is essential for the standardization and improvement of production processes to obtain a high quality meat.
