Abstract: An edible muscle food product is provided as a mixture of two essential components. One essential component is the pigment responsible for the color of cooked cured meats which has been prepared from red blood cells. The process for preparing this pigment includes reacting bovine or hog red blood cells with a nitrosating agent and a reductant, at elevated temperatures, to provide powdered cooked cured-meat pigment. Then the cooked cured-meat pigment is encapsulated within a treating mixture consisting of: a carbohydrate-based wall material; a binding agent; and an additional agent selected from a reducing agent, a sequestrant or mixtures thereof. The food product includes the cooked cured-meat pigment and a proteinaceous material, e.g., an emulsion-type meat product, an emulsion-type fish mince product, or an emulsion-type surimi-based product. When the pigment in the encapsulated form is added to the proteinaceous materials prior to cooking the typical color of a nitrite-cured product is reproduced.

Abstract: An encapsulated powdered cooked cured-meat pigment (PCCMP) is provided herein. Such pigment comprises a mononitric oxide complex of protoporphyrin (IX) Fe (II) compound derived from red blood cells, or from a hemin intermediate, or from a derivative thereof. The pigment is encapsulated within a treating mixture consisting of: (i) a carbohydrate-based wall material selected from the group consisting starch, modified starches, a starch polymer, a starch derivative, maltodextrins, starch products, chitinous compounds, .beta.-cyclodextrin and modified .beta.-cyclodextrin; (ii) a binding agent selected from the group consisting of gums and glycerin; and (iii) an additional agent comprising a reducing agent, a sequestrant or mixtures thereof.

Abstract: The pigment responsible for the color of cooked cured-meats has been prepared from red blood cells, directly or indirectly through a hemin intermediate. The process for preparing this pigment includes reacting bovine or hog red blood cells with a nitrosating agent and a reductant, at elevated temperatures, to provide a cooked cured-meat pigment; stabilizing and/or encapsulating and/or protecting the cooked cured-meat pigment to provide a stabilized cooked cured-meat pigment; and drying the stabilized cooked cured-meat pigment by spray-drying, drum-drying or freeze-drying techniques. As an essential feature of this invention, the pigment is encapsulated in carbohydrate-based wall materials for easy handling. The stabilized pigment, when added to meat prior to cooking, reproduces the typical color of a nitrite-cured meat product.