Rosemary, Spices May Protect Meat

Hamburgers may be a bit safer if a dash of rosemary is splashed onto the grill, according to the spring issue of the University of Arkansas’ Food Safety Consortium Newsletter.

Extracts of rosemary have been found in recent years to have beneficial effects on food, the article stated.

The latest finding indicates the spice can reduce the levels of carcinogenic compounds in grilled ground beef patties. The compounds — heterocyclic amines, known generally as HCAs — are found in cooked fish and meats.

HCAs are produced in protein-rich muscle foods that have been barbecued, grilled, broiled or fried. They have also been linked in epidemiological studies to various cancers.

“Rosemary is a hot antioxidant right now. It’s real popular,” said J. Scott Smith, a food chemistry professor at Kansas State University, where he is researching the extract for a Food Safety Consortium project. Antioxidants are often used in food additives to guard against deterioration of food.

The researchers are trying to find out how much HCAs can be reduced in ground beef patties after the patties are fortified with rosmarinic acid and carnosic acid, two natural antioxidants extracted from rosemary. The results indicated that two HCA compounds were reduced at cooking temperatures of 375 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit, but two others were not.

More studies are being conducted to determine if temperature adjustment might make a difference with the compounds that weren’t reduced, according to the article.

“We’re going to continue this line of research and try to narrow down some of the chemicals in some of the spices because they’re loaded with antioxidants,” Smith said.

At KSU, Smith is also evaluating the effects of added spices on the production of acylcyclobutanones (ACBs) in irradiated ground beef. Over the last couple of years, there have been concerns raised that ACBs may be carcinogenic.