THE USDA ESTIMATES THAT MORE THAN 96 BILLION POUNDS OF FOOD IN THE U.S. ARE LOST ANNUALLY TO RETAILERS, FOOD SERVICE, AND CONSUMERS, WITH MEAT, POULTRY AND FISH COMPRISING 8.5% OF THAT NUMBER-8.8 BILLION POUNDS PER YEAR. DISCOLORATION AND FLAVOR DETERIORATION IN MUSCLE FOODS DUE TO OXIDATIVE PROCESSES MEDIATED BY HEME PROTEINS CONTRIBUTE SUBSTANTIALLY TO THIS FOOD LOSS. AS AN EXAMPLE, U.S. RETAILERS FAIL TO CAPTURE AT LEAST 1 BILLION DOLLARS OF REVENUE ANNUALLY FROM FRESH BEEF SALES DUE TO PRODUCT DISCOLORATION. THIS PROJECT IS SPECIFICALLY AIMED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THESE OXIDATIVE PROCESSES MEDIATED BY HEME PROTEINS.OUR PREVIOUS WORK POINTS TOWARD A UNIFYING MECHANISM OF OXIDATIVE DETERIORATION IN MUSCLE FOODS, WHICH IS INCREASED ACCESS OF SOLVENT TO THE DISTAL CAVITY FACILITATES AUTO-OXIDATION (DISCOLORATION) WHILE INCREASED ACCESS TO THE PROXIMAL CAVITY FACILITATES HEME LOSS (CAUSING FLAVOR DETERIORATION). THE CUTTING-EDGE TECHNIQUES OF PLASMA-INDUCED MODIFICATION OF BIOMOLECULES(PLIMB) AND ORBITRAP-MASS SPECTROMETRY WILL BE USED TO QUANTIFY SOLVENT ACCESS TO THE HEME POCKET. THE UNIFYING MECHANISM WILL BE EXAMINED AS A FUNCTION OF PH, HEME PROTEIN TYPE, AND SMALL MOLECULES THAT HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BIND TO HEME PROTEINS IN MUSCLE FOODS DURING STORAGE. PH CAN BE VARIED DURING MANUFACTURING OF MUSCLE FOODS WHICH PLACES IMPORTANCE ON UNDERSTANDING OXIDATIVE DETERIORATION AT DIFFERENT PH VALUES. HEME PROTEINS FROM BEEF, POULTRY, AND FISH EXHIBIT DIFFERENT SUSCEPTIBILITIES TO OXIDATIVE DEGRADATION AND SO WILL BE EXAMINED FOR THAT REASON AND TO ENCOMPASS THE NUMEROUS TYPES OF MUSCLE FOODS THAT ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO QUALITY DETERIORATION DURING STORAGE. IT IS EXPECTED THAT NOVEL STRATEGIES TO INHIBIT DISCOLORATION AND FLAVOR DETERIORATION IN MUSCLE FOODS WILL BE POSSIBLE ONCE THE HEME ENVIRONMENT IS BETTER CHARACTERIZED WITH REGARD TO PH, HEME PROTEIN TYPE, AND HEME PROTEINS THAT ARE ADDUCTED WITH SMALL MOLECULES.