Influence of Carcass Parts and Food Additives on the Oxidative Stability of Frozen Mechanically Separated and Hand-Deboned Chicken Meat

Mechanically separated chicken meat (MSCM) from necks and backs was blended with sodium tripolyphosphate (.1, .3, or .5%), sodium caseinate (.5, 1, or 2%), a rosemary extract (.01, .02, or .03%) and a commercial antioxidant mixture Dadex 2 (Daminco Inc., Mississauga, ONT) (.02, .05, or .08%) to evaluate their ability to prolong the oxidative shelflife of this product during frozen storage. Dadex 2 and rosemary were found to effectively delay malonaldehyde formation over a 7-mo period, whereas sodium caseinate and sodium tripolyphosphate were found ineffective in retarding oxidative rancidity. A second study showed that MSCM from necks and backs, frames, and rears underwent oxidative deterioration at a faster rate than hand-deboned ground meat from thighs and breasts. Although compositional analyses indicated that MSCM samples contained greater amounts of total fat and heme pigments, the mechanical deboning process, which results in extensive cellular disruption and oxygen incorporation, appeared to be a major contributing factor in promoting lipid oxidation in MSCM.