Info about Meat

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Meat and Meat Products

Putrescine, spermine, and spermidine occur naturally in meat, where they serve as growth factors and are involved in a number of vital processes. Compared with fish, meat contains higher spermine levels.


Meat products are also susceptible to proteolysis by enzymes (endogenous or from microbial contaminants), liberation of amino acids, and amine formation by amino acid decarboxylation. During storage and putrefaction of pork meat, there is a significant increase in putrescine and cadaverine. A significant correlation has been observed between these amines and total microbial counts.


In poultry, immediately after slaughter, high levels of spermine and spermidine and traces of putrescine have been detected. During storage at 4 _C, there is a decrease in spermine levels, whereas spermidine levels remain constant. The levels of putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, and tyramine increase significantly on the 15th day with higher levels found in breast than in thighs. The amine levels in chicken-based products indicate that the ingredients can affect the amine profile. Chicken-based hot dog contains significantly higher spermidine levels than the meat, probably because of the addition of soybean in the formulation. Significantly higher biogenic amine levels have been observed in chicken-based sausages, which could be indicative of the use of low-quality raw material, or of contamination during processing and storage.