Volatile components associated with freshly cooked and oxidized off‐flavours in turkey breast meat

Cooked turkey breast is particularly susceptible to lipid oxidation‐mediated off‐flavour development during refrigerated storage. Volatile aroma compounds present in freshly cooked turkey breast muscle after cooling in air and under nitrogen, and also those in air‐cooled meat stored for 3 days at 4 °C, were examined using headspace solid phase microextraction (SPME) combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Odour‐port sensory assessment of the separated volatiles was carried out, using a modified form of aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). Compared to weakly aromatic nitrogen‐cooled turkey breast, the levels of a number of unsaturated carbonyl compounds were much higher in freshly cooked air‐cooled samples and showed further large increases in the oxidized chilled meat. Among these, the most potent odour contributors to both fresh and oxidized turkey samples were 1‐octen‐3‐one, ( E , E )‐2,4‐decadienal and ( E , Z )‐2,6‐nonadienal. The concentration of the only moderately potent sulphur‐containing compound identified, viz. 2‐pentylthiophene, was significantly lower in the oxidized compared to the fresh samples, and gas chromatography–olfactometry (GCO) suggested that this compound made a contribution to the aroma of freshly cooked turkey.