Improving Turkey Meat Quality by Carcass Injection

ONE of the problems facing the turkey industry is consumer complaints on dryness and toughness of the meat, particularly the breast muscles. Schwall et al. (1968b) reported that injection of up to 5 percent of the body weight as a mixture of liquid fats and phosphate salts resulted in a significant improvement in juiciness and tenderness of the cooked meat. Klose et al. (1962) reported that use of 5 percent soluble phosphates in the chill water of turkeys resulted in significantly higher yields of cooked meat. May et al. (1962) reported that the use of 10 ounces of soluble polyphosphates per gallon of chill water resulted in a significant improvement in both tenderness and juiciness of broiler chickens. The injection of materials into meat to alter texture or flavor has been practiced for many years. Mareta (1938) proposed injection of seasonings in liquid form into poultry carcasses before they were…