Abstract
Various animal fats constitute a category of livestock by-products generated during the industrial processing of animal carcasses at meat-packing facilities and widely utilized in the food industry. The research purpose is to investigate the veterinary and sanitary quality of various types of fat used for food purposes. The study comparatively examined the physicochemical properties of beef, horse, and mutton fats. Considering various types of spoilage, the optimal storage periods and effective methods for defect removal were determined to preserve the nutritional quality of the raw materials. The study found that the melting point of beef fat is 50.37±0.42 °C, which is 1.76% higher than that of mutton fat (47.53±2.19 °C) and GOST value. This is due to the high content of saturated fatty acids - palmitic and stearic. The melting point of horse fat is lower (33.80±1.15 °C), which is due to the high content of oleic acid. The refractive index corresponds to the norm in all samples, only in three samples of mutton fat was a slight deviation observed. The highest moisture content was found in mutton fat (0.277±0.014%), which can contribute to the development of mold and microorganisms during storage. The results confirm the importance of assessing the physicochemical properties of fats when determining their quality.