Abstract: The importance of the degradation of lipids and the interactions of Maillard reactions with lipids in developing a species characteristic flavour of cooked meat was discussed. There have been 241 compounds of 11 categories found during the oxidation of tallow in the preliminary statistics. The proposed formation mechanisms of major components identified in oxidized tallow were summaried. The focal point was to introduce the technology of meat flavour developed from oxidized tallow and the conditions of oxidation about tallow.

Key words: tallow, oxidation, meat flavor