Effects of Feeding Fish Meal and Tocopherol on Flavor of Precooked, Frozen Turkey Meat

The effects of feeding fish meal (0–10% of diet) and/or dl-α-tocopherol acetate (22 I.U./kg. of diet) on fishiness and rancidity in pre-cooked, sliced, frozen turkey meat were investigated through the use of TBA Nos. and taste panel. Feeding turkeys 7.5 or 10.0 percent fish meal (FM) for 65 days pre-slaughter produced breast meat that was significantly (P < 0.01) more fishy than control meat. For thigh-leg meat only the 10.0 percent FM level differed from the control (P < 0.01). TBA No. means for meat from 0 and 2.5 percent FM diets were lower (P < 0.01) than means from the 10.0 percent FM diet. In general, both TBA Nos. and panel scores indicated a more undesirable product with each increase in FM level. Including 22 I.U. vit. E/kg. of diet in the 10.0 percent FM diet significantly (P < 0.01) reduced TBA Nos. for meat. The same trend held (P < 0.05) for thigh-leg meat but not for breast meat from birds fed 5 percent FM. Panel scores indicated a consistent trend for a more desirable product when 22 I.U. vit. E/kg. of diet was fed. Feeding FM at the rate of more than 5.0 percent of the diet during the latter part of the growing period had a detrimental effect on flavor quality of pre-cooked, sliced, frozen turkey. Including dl-α-tocopherol acetate in high-level-FM diets reduced the magnitude of TBA Nos. and severity of off-flavors.