Effect of Refrigeration and Microbial Contamination of Raw Broiler Tissues on Thiobarbituric Acid Values and Headspace Gas Chromatographic Analysis of Cooked and Stored Breast and Leg Meat

Paired raw broiler breast and leg muscles were stored at 6 C as control or inoculated samples for 0, 2, 7, or 14 days or until a near spoilage time of 19 or more days. Treated samples were inoculated with a low count cell suspension (105) of normal flora. Samples were cooked and evaluated after 0 and 3-day storage at 4 C before being further evaluated by the thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test and headspace gas chromatographic analysis. Storage after cooking had a positive effect on TBA values and several headspace volatiles. However, both TBA values and major volatiles of cooked, stored meat decreased significantly as the storage time prior to cooking increased. Generally no differences were found between inoculated and control samples for TBA and major volatiles, indicating that microbial contamination of raw, unspoiled tissues prior to cooking was not a factor in the oxidative stability of cooked and stored broiler meat.