When subjected to high pressures at ambient temperatures, the shelf life of freshmeat is increased; however the meat takes on a cooked appearance as the actomyosin denatures at about 200 MPa and themyoglobin denatures and/or co-precipitateswith other proteins at about 400 MPa. In addition, at pressures of 400 MPa and above the
unsaturated lipids in the meat become more susceptible to oxidation, probably due to the release of iron from complexes present in meat (haemosiderin and ferritin?) and/or changes in the lipid membrane.