Inhibition of Pink Color Development in Cooked, Uncured Ground Turkey by the Addition of Citric Acid

Citric acid (CIT, 0.3%) was assessed for its ability to reduce the pink color defect in ground, cooked (80C) turkey breast associated with nicotinamide hemochrome (NICHEME) and nitrosyl hemochrome (NITHEME). CIT incorporation in nicotinamide‐treated (NIC, 1.0%) samples (CIT plus NIC) reduced (P<0.05) redness by 51% compared to the control and 63% compared to the NIC‐only treatment. CIT addition in sodium nitrite‐treated (NIT, 10 ppm) samples (CIT plus NIT) was similar (P>0.05) in redness to the control and reduced (P<0.05) the redness by 43% compared to the NIT‐ only treatment. All treatments containing citric acid lowered the pH and increased (P<0.05) cooking loss compared to samples without citric acid. At the level tested, addition of citric acid would provide poultry processors a means to eliminate or significantly reduce the pink defect. However, the use of citric acid may require the addition of nonacid