Myoglobin, the heme pigment primarily responsible for the red
color of fresh meats, denatures upon exposure to heat. Thermal denaturation
of Mb is a process not necessarily happening at a particular
point, but rather occurring over a short range of temperature
studied the kinetics of Mb denaturation
in beef and lamb burgers cooked to wide range of internal
temperatures and observed that Mb denaturation follows a first order
kinetics. Several studies documented increased Mb denaturation in
meats as internal cooking temperatures increased