Fats, or lipids, are the most concentrated source of food energy and are necessary to health.

Carcass fat contains around 8085% triacylglycerol fat, 510% moisture and around 10% connective tissue. Fat is seen as fatty tissue, because fatty tissue and fat are by definition not the same as fat which refers to the fat material only without water or connective tissue. Fat is a non-polar molecule and unlike water, which is polar, fat does not exhibit a negative and positive end (pole). Fat, or lipids, are therefore insoluble in water because of the presence of insoluble carbonhydrogen components within the molecule. Food fats are carriers of fat soluble vitamins and some essential unsaturated fatty acids. Fat is generally colourless but exhibits occasionally a touch of yellow and is by nature extremely hydrophobic (lipophilic). Fat from cattle fed with fresh grass containing carotene frequently shows a yellow tinge, and fat itself carries some flavour but is an excellent solvent for countless other flavour and aroma components. Depending on the types of fatty acid present in meat, the flavour can vary dramatically. Pork fat produces upon the impact of heat saturated as well as unsaturated aldehydes, which are typical of pork flavour. Such components are hardly present in beef fat as beef fat contains predominantly saturated fatty acids. Some branched fatty acids are found within fat originating from sheep, which are responsible for the pronounced sheep, or lamb, flavour. The difference in flavour and taste of different types of fat is not solely based on pure fat but is more due to the heat treatment of fatty tissue overall. Fatty tissue, as well as fat, also contains connective tissue as well as other amino acids, which contribute to a large extent to the various flavours originating from different types of fat. Fatty acids, such as oleic acid, show a positive impact towards the flavour of fat whilst stearic acid and linolenic acid demonstrate a negative impact on the flavour of fat overall.
Animal fats are divided into three major groups. 1) Intramuscular fat (fat between the muscle fibres and fibre bundles). It is also known as the marbling fat and as such plays a major role towards juiciness, flavour and tenderness of meat. The world-famous Kobe beef in Japan shows extremely high levels of such marbling fat which, as well as other factors such as a very special diet and treatment of the animal overall, contributes to the very tender, juicy and tasty meat. 2) Intermuscular fat (between individual muscles).

Intermuscular fat (a) (around individual muscles) and intramuscular fat (b) (inside muscle tissue)
3) Subcutaneous or depot fat : fats found under the skin (backfat, jowl fat and belly) and fats surrounding organs(kidney, heart, leafe)

Composition of fats The building blocks for fat (or simple lipids) are triglycerides and fat is made out of molecules of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Other substances, known as complex lipids, also contain phosphorus, nitrogen and sulphur besides carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Triglycerides in fat are esters of the trihydric alcohol glycerol and three fatty acids (three of the same type or three different types) are bound to glycerol (Fig.). An ester is a compound formed by the reaction between an alcohol and acid with the removal of water. The reaction is the following: alcohol (glycerol) + acid (fatty acids) ester + water.

Triglyceride showing glycerol and three fatty acids. Glycerol (or 1,2,3-propane triol) is an alcohol showing three OH groups within its molecule. When triglycerides are solid at room temperature, they are called fats. On the other hand, in the case when triglycerides are liquid at room temperature, they are called oils. Lipids include monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, sterols, terpenes, phospholipids, fatty alcohols and fatty acids. Phospholipids, such as lecithin, exhibit two fatty acids and a phosphoric component bound to glycerol. Cholesterol is the most well-known representative from the sterols group.Monoglycerides have one fatty acid bound to glycerol whilst diglyceridesdemonstrate two fatty acids bound to glycerol. Triglycerides exhibit three fatty acids bound to the alcohol glycerol. The different types of fats are as follows. 1. Saturated fats. The saturation of fat refers to the chemical structure of its fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids are of linear structure (non-branched) and generally exhibit even numbers of carbon atoms within their molecule such as 16 or 18 carbon atoms. Single-bond linkages are present in saturated fatty acids between carbon atoms and no double bond is given. Such single-bond linkages are chemically not very active and saturated fatty acids are commonly solid at room temperature. Animal fats are predominantly saturated fats or contain a high amount of saturated fatty acids. Important representatives of saturated fatty acids present in animal fat are stearic acid (C18:0) as well as palmitic acid (C16:0). The 0 shows that no double bond is present within the fatty

acid, which is made from 18 (16) atoms of carbon. Beef fat contains a high level of saturated long-chained fatty acids. The degree of saturation in fat decreases in the sequence beef > pork > poultry > fish (least saturated). Stearic acid is unique in as much as it does not raise blood cholesterol and unfortunately is very often associated with other saturated fatty acids, which do raise blood cholesterol. Major sources of stearic acid are chocolate, lard, tallow and commercial fats and butter. Palm oil and coconut oil are also rich in saturated fatty acids.

2. Trans fats (behave similarly to saturated fats).

3. Monounsaturated fats. Unsaturated fatty acids contain one or more double bond(s) between carbon linkages and the double bonds in unsaturated fatty acids regularly show a cis configuration. Monounsaturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid contains one double bond in its chemical structure. Such fatty acids are found in olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil as well as avocados. Example include Oleic acid (18:1).

Monounsaturated fats can lower the total cholesterol by replacing saturated fats and also do not lower the level of the healthy high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (see Section 1.10). They are less prone to oxidation than are polyunsaturated fats. Fats that contain monounsaturated fatty acids are normally liquid at room temperature but many thicken when placed under refrigeration. Monounsaturated fats are beneficial to health and may be better than polyunsaturated fats in preventing heart disease. The diet in countries such as Italy and Greece is high in monounsaturated fats from olive oil and is one explanation for the low rate of heart disease in those countries. Olive oil contains around 75% oleic acid (C18:1). 4. Polyunsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fatty acids exhibit two or more double bonds within their molecule and the two main types are as follows. a) Omega-3 (3) fatty acids such as a-linolenic acid, which is the starter fatty acid for the 3 series. This fatty acid is 18 carbon atoms long and has in total three double bonds

placed after the third, sixth and ninth carbon atoms from the methyl (CH3) end within the molecule. Other representatives in this group are docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid. b) Omega-6 (6) fatty acids such as linoleic acid, which is the main polyunsaturated fatty acid in vegetable oils originating from canola, maize, sunflowers or peanuts. Linoleic acid is the starter fatty acid for the 6 series, having 18 carbon atoms as well as two double bonds placed after carbon atom number six and nine from the methyl end within the molecule. Other members of this group are g-linoleic acid and arachidonic acid. c) Omega-9 (9) fatty acids, such as palmitoleic acid, also exist. 3 and 6 fatty acids are essential unsaturated fatty acids and have to be provided to the human body by eating foods containing those fatty acids, given the fact that the human body cannot build them from other fatty acids.

Animal fats Fatty tissues are a natural occurring part of the meat carcass. In the live organism, fatty tissues function as

Energy deposits (store energy) Insulation against body temperature losses Protective padding in the skin and around organs, especially kidney and heart.

Fatty tissue (Fig. 8) is composed of cells, which like other tissue cells, have cell membranes, nucleus and cell matrix, the latter significantly reduced to provide space for storing fat. Fats, in the form of triglycerides, accumulate in the fat cells. Well fed animals accumulate large amounts of fat in the tissues. In periods of starvation or exhaustion, fat is gradually reduced from the fat cells.

Fig. 8: Fatty tissue (fat cells filled with lipids)

Fig. 9: Intermuscular fat (a) (around individual muscles) and intramuscular fat (b) (inside muscle tissue) In the animal body there are subcutaneous fat deposits (under the skin) (Fig. 10(a/b)) and Fig. 14(a)), fat deposits surrounding organs (e.g. kidney, heart) (Fig. 10(d) and Fig. 16(a)) or fat deposits between muscles (intermuscular fat, (Fig. 9(a)). Fat deposits between the muscle fibre bundles of a muscle are called intramuscular fat (Fig. 9(b)) and lead in higher accumulations to marbling. Marbling of muscle meat contributes to tenderness and flavour of meat. Many consumers prefer marbling of meat for steaks and other roasted meat dishes. For processed meat products, fats are added to make products softer and also for taste and flavour improvement. In order to make best use of animal fats, basic knowledge on their selection and proper utilization is essential.

Fatty tissues from certain animal species are better suited for meat product manufacture, fats from other species less or not suited at all. This is mainly for sensory reasons as taste and flavour of fat varies between animal species. Strong differences are also pronounced in older animals, with the well known example of fat from old sheep, which most consumers refuse. However, this aspect is to some extent subjective as consumers prefer the type of animal fat they are used to. Availability also plays a role when fatty tissues are used for processing. Some animal species have higher quantities of fatty tissue (e.g. pigs), others lesser quantities (e.g. bovines) (Table 1). Pig fat is favoured in many regions for processing purposes. It is often readily available but and has a suitable tissue structure, composition and unpronounced taste which make it readily usable. Fresh pork fat is almost odour- and flavourless. Body fats from other animal species have good processing potential for the manufacture of meat products, but the addition of larger quantities is limited by availability and some undesirable taste properties. Pork fat

Fig. 10: Pork carcass with backfat (a), belly (b), leafe fat (c) and kidney fat (d) The subcutaneous fats from pigs are the best suited and also most widely used in meat processing, e.g. backfat (Fig. 10(a), Fig. 12), jowl fat (Fig. 11(b), Fig. 12) and belly (Fig. 10(b) and Fig. 12). These fatty tissues are easily separated from other tissues and used as separate ingredients for meat products. Also the intermuscular fats occurring in certain locations in muscle tissues are used. They are either trimmed off or left connected (e.g. intermuscular fat in muscle tissue) and processed together with the muscle meat. Subcutaneous and intermuscular fats are also known as body fats. Another category are the depot-fats, located in the animal body around internal organs. These fats can also be manually separated. In rare cases mesenterical (intestinal) fats of pigs are used for soft meat products (e.g. liver sausage), but only in small quantities as they cause untypical mouthfeel in final products. The kidney fat (Fig. 10(d)) and leafe fat (Fig. 10(c), Fig. 12) of pigs are not recommended for processed meat products due to their hardness and taint, but are used for lard production.

Fig. 11: Jowl fat removed from pig head (a) and cut into strips (b). Behind: Rest of pork carcass with back fat

Fig. 12: All fatty tissues from the pork carcass: Jowl fat, back fat (above); leafe fat, belly and soft fat (below)

PORK FATS Fats, or lipids, are the most concentrated source of food energy and are necessary to health. Carcass fat contains around 8085% triacylglycerol fat, 510% moisture and around 10% connective tissue. Different types of fat exhibit different melting points and as a result have a different impact on the mouth feel in meat products. Fats containing a high number of saturated fatty acids (such as kidney fat or lard) cause a greasy, smeary and sandy mouth feel whilst more unsaturated fats give a pleasant taste as well as a smooth non-sandy mouth feel. Generally, the hardest fat within a carcass showing high levels of saturated fatty acids is found in the centre of the carcass and softer fats are placed towards the outside of a carcass. Even in subcutaneous pork fat, such as pork back fat, the outer layer of pork back fat, which is directly connected with the skin, is softer than the inner layer. Hence, soft fat contains a higher amount of connective tissue within itself compared with hard fat, and chicken fat, which is the softest fat (a high amount of unsaturated fatty acids), contains the highest level of connective tissue. On the other hand, beef fat, which is of hard consistency, exhibits the lowest level of connective tissue. Pork fat lies between chicken and beef fat in terms of the level of connective tissue within the fat itself. In summary, soft fat contains higher levels of connective tissue but fat molecules entrapped within connective tissue are of soft consistency (a high degree of unsaturated fatty acids). Hard fat, on the other hand, contains less connective tissue but fat molecules covered by connective tissue are of hard consistency (a high degree of saturated fatty acids). The melting point of a fatty acid depends largely on the length of the fatty acid itself as well as the number of double bonds present. Saturated fatty acids generally show a higher melting point than unsaturated fatty acids do. The double bonds (and therefore less hydrogen within a fatty acid) present in unsaturated fatty acids, lower the melting point, and unsaturated fatty acids show generally a lower melting point than saturated fatty acids as a result. An increased number of double bonds within a fatty acid lowers the melting point once again. An increased length of a fatty acid containing a higher number of carbon atoms causes an increase in melting point. For example, stearic acid (18 carbon atoms) has a melting

point of around 70C whilst capric acid (ten carbon atoms) shows a melting point of around 30 C. Overall, the melting point of beef fat is around 4347C, pork fat around 3844C and chicken fat around 3137C. Hence, fat containing cis-shaped double bonds within the fat molecule exhibits a lower melting point than fat containing trans double bonds. The consistency of fat largely depends on the saturation of the fatty acids. A higher number of unsaturated fatty acids leads to softer fat. Pork fat contains a relatively high amount of unsaturated fatty acids and is soft as a result. Beef fat, on the other hand, contains predominantly saturated fatty acids and is therefore of a hard consistency. The level of saturated fatty acids within fats varies and is for beef around 5560%, for pork around 42 44% and for chicken only 30%. This explains the hardness of fat in the sequence beef pork chicken, with chicken being the softest. Lamb and mutton are similar to beef with regard to the content of saturated fatty acids. For the production of meat products, pork fat, which has a small number of unsaturated fatty acids such as fat from loin and neck, is the preferred choice over soft pork fat, from the leg and shoulder, showing a higher number of unsaturated fatty acids. Such soft fat is best utilized for emulsified sausages and is not recommended for products such as salami, where hard fat is needed as it can be cleanly cut and the tendency towards rancidity is reduced as well. Vegetable fats are predominantly liquid because of their high level of unsaturated fatty acids. During hardening of fat, double bonds are destroyed and a reduced number of double bonds increases the melting point. Such treatment helps to regulate the melting point in products such as margarine.