Lipid oxidation in frozen, mechanically deboned turkey meat as affected by packaging parameters and storage conditions.

Mechanically deboned turkey meat (MDTM) was stored in different packaging materials (film produced with natural antioxidant (alpha-tocopherol) or synthetic antioxidant) at -20 degrees C for 12 mo in a vacuum, modified atmosphere, or air. One-half of the samples were thawed at 4 degrees C for 24 h after 1 mo of storage and then refrozen. Oxidative rancidity was evaluated during storage by measuring the development of 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and hexanal, a volatile oxidation product. Vacuum- and modified atmosphere-packaged samples had lower TBARS values and hexanal content than air-packaged samples with corresponding treatments. Hexanal content and TBARS values increased with storage time, and the highest levels were obtained after 6 mo of storage. The largest increase was obtained with presence of oxygen. Mechanically deboned turkey meat stored in packages where a natural antioxidant (alpha-tocopherol) was used in production of one of the PE layers, had, in almost every instance, the lowest TBARS values and hexanal content when stored in vacuum or modified atmosphere. However, this difference was not statistically significant. Neither TBARS values nor hexanal content showed dependency of the temperature profile (frozen or frozen/thawed/refrozen) during storage.

The effect of evaporative air chilling and storage temperature on quality and shelf life of fresh chicken carcasses.

The effect of evaporative air chilling on quality of fresh chicken carcasses was compared with air chilling as reference method. Cooling efficiency and total heat loss were significantly higher for evaporative air chilling. The chilling method was of great importance for weight loss. Chicken chilled in cold air lost considerably more weight than chicken cooled by evaporative air chilling; the difference was 1.8%. The chilling method also affected the skin color and the amount of moisture on skin surface. After evaporative air chilling, the chicken carcasses had a lighter color and more water on the back and under the wings. The moisture content in skin and meat, cooking loss, and pH were not affected by chilling method. Odor attributes of raw chicken and odor and flavor attributes of cooked chicken did not show any significant differences between the two chilling methods. The shelf life of chicken stored at 4 and -1 C were not affected significantly by chilling method. Storage time and temperature appeared to be the decisive factors for sensory and microbiological quality of fresh chicken carcasses.