Progress in Understanding the Postmortem Aging Mechanism of Meat and Monitoring the Aging Process

Postmortem aging is a critical approach to improving the eating quality of meat, such as tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. There are three common aging methods, namely wet aging, dry aging, and their combination, each of which has its own characteristics. The final goal of these aging methods is to improve the edibility and palatability of meat. However, too long aging will lead to adverse effects such as severe mass loss and lipid and protein oxidation. Therefore, elucidating the postmortem aging mechanism of meat, monitoring and optimizing the aging process, and improving the eating quality of meat and simultaneously minimizing the quality defects caused by excessive aging are of great significance to the development of the meat industry. Although few studies have so far been reported on the monitoring and optimization of the meat aging process and meat quality prediction, precise control of the postmortem aging process will be an important development direction for the meat industry in the future. In this paper, the effects and mechanisms of different postmortem aging strategies on meat tenderness, flavor, color and oxidation stability are reviewed. Monitoring of the dry aging process based on mold coverage and electrical resistance on meat surfaces, and monitoring of the wet aging process based on meat exudate are discussed and future prospects are proposed in order to lay a theoretical foundation for the establishment of muscle-specific aging strategies.