# Meat spoilage by bacteria: Influencing factors, volatile compounds, and organoleptic alterations

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how bacteria spoil meat, focusing on factors like pH and temperature, and the volatile compounds and sensory changes they cause.

## Contribution

The paper systematically reviews the spoilage mechanisms of bacteria in meat, including the volatile compounds and organoleptic changes they produce.

## Key findings

- Spoilage bacteria produce volatile compounds like amines, alcohols, and sulfur compounds through enzymatic reactions.
- Bacterial metabolic activities lead to organoleptic changes such as slime formation, odor production, and color changes in meat.
- Factors like pH, water activity, packaging, and storage temperature influence bacterial growth and spoilage progression.

## Abstract

This review provides an understanding of spoilage factors of meat, the spoilage bacteria, the spoilage mode of major spoilage bacteria, and alterations due to spoilage. pH and water activity of meat, packaging atmosphere, and storage temperature affect the growth and activity of spoilage bacteria. The spoilage bacteria cause the production of various compounds. Volatile compounds such as volatile basic nitrogen [ammonia (NH3) and amines (RNH2)], alcohols (ROH), aldehydes (RCHO), ketones (RCOR’), and sulfur (S) compounds are generated by decomposition from glycogen, proteins and lipids in meat with various enzymatic (decarboxylase, phosphoketolase, alcohol dehydrogenase, lipoxygenase, acetate kinase, etc.) reactions of Brochothrix thermosphacta, Carnobacterium, Enterobacteriaceae, lactic acid bacteria, Pseudomonas, etc. During the spoilage process, some metabolic activities of bacteria lead to organoleptic alterations in meat. Some bacteria form slime, produce odor-causing substances, or cause color changes during meat spoilage. The information reviewed in this paper may help readers better understand meat spoilage by bacteria; other causes responsible for spoilage are not covered in this paper.