Zhao, ZhiyuToulon, ElphegeEjorh, UcheChen, TonyKantono, KevinKam, RothmanHamid, Nazimah2026-02-192026-02-192026-02-13Food Research International, ISSN: 0963-9969 (Print), Elsevier BV, 231, 118583-118583. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2026.1185830963-9969http://hdl.handle.net/10292/20656This study evaluates fermented–roasted avocado seed powder (ASP) as a sustainable antioxidant for beef patties and integrates explainable artificial intelligence (AI) to provide mechanistic insights into lipid oxidation control. ASP was produced via controlled fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum followed by roasting and incorporated into beef patties (0.95 g/kg). Its performance was compared with butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and untreated controls during 10-day refrigerated storage at 4 °C. ASP exhibited the highest initial reducing antioxidant capacity (0.283 mg ascorbic acid equivalents (AAE)/g) measured by cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and maintained significantly greater activity than BHT and control throughout storage (p < 0.05). Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) analysis showed ASP reduced lipid oxidation by 21% relative to control, approaching BHT efficacy. ASP also improved colour stability and preserved key fatty acids, notably oleic acid. Volatile profiling revealed distinct antioxidant behaviour, with ASP generating Maillard-derived compounds rather than relying on synthetic additives. Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) analysis, applied to an extreme gradient boosting model (XGBoost), identified γ-linolenic acid, oleic acid, pentanal, and 2-heptanone as major predictors of oxidative stability, highlighting ASP's broad-spectrum protective effect. These findings demonstrate that ASP not only valorises avocado seed waste but also offers a viable alternative to synthetic antioxidants, supporting sustainability goals. The integration of explainable AI with multivariate analysis provides new understanding of lipid oxidation pathways and antioxidant performance in meat systems.© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. You are not required to obtain permission to reuse this article.30 Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences3003 Animal Production3006 Food SciencesMachine Learning and Artificial IntelligencePrevention0904 Chemical Engineering0908 Food Sciences1111 Nutrition and DieteticsFood Science3006 Food sciences3210 Nutrition and dietetics4004 Chemical engineeringAvocado seed powder (ASP)Natural antioxidantBeef pattiesLipid oxidationThiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)Explainable artificial intelligence (AI)Shapley additive explanations (SHAP)eXtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost)Volatile compoundsJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.1016/j.foodres.2026.118583