Through these mechanisms, synthetic antioxidants have been both effective and economical for inhibiting oxidative changes and prolonging the shelf life of foods. The commercial development of natural antioxidant sources both for nutritional purposes and for their preservative effects is therefore of major interest to the global food industry. The best known sources of natural antioxidants for preventing food spoilage include vitamin C, carotenoids, tocopherols and extracts from herbs, spices and tea. Plants such as rosemary, thyme, marjoram, clove and ginger attribute their antioxidant activity to naturally occurring phenolic compounds. Rosemary extract is the most widely used spice antioxidant and is commonly added to meats and meat products, dressings, and fats and oils to inhibit oxidative degradation of these foods.
Vitamin E is also an effective natural antioxidant.
By supplementing the feeds of poultry, swine and cattle with this vitamin it is possible for animals to incorporate the antioxidant compound directly into their muscle tissues resulting in meats with much improved lipid stability compared with meats from animals fed standard diets. An accompanying selection of FSTA Abstracts about natural antioxidants is available. Extended version of an article published in the October 1998 issue of the FoodInfo newsletter.