Cooking enhances the palatability and digestibility by denaturing proteins and softening muscle fibres. In other words, it makes meat more digestible. However, cooking at very high temperatures, such as charring, initiates the release of amines and cyclic chemical compounds that might contribute to development of cancers.

The use of food additives is rising with increasing use of processed foods. Food additives can be natural (derived from plants or animals) or synthetic (made from chemical substances or enzymes).