Influence of Irradiation and Storage on the Quality of Ready-To-Eat Turkey Breast Rolls - M. J. Zhu, A. Mendonca, E. J. Lee, and D. U. Ahn, Iowa State University - This article contains an abstract from the Poultry Science Association's August 2004 journal.

Abstract

Influence of irradiation and storage on the quality of ready-to-eat (RTE) turkey breast rolls was investigated. Commercial oven roasted turkey breast rolls purchased from local stores were sliced and vacuum packaged.

The sliced samples were randomly divided into 3 groups and irradiated at 0, 1.0, or 2.0 kGy using a linear accelerator. Color, 2-TBA-reactive substances (TBARS), sensory characteristics, and volatiles were evaluated at 0, 7, and 14 d of storage.

Irradiation increased color a* value of turkey breast rolls. Irradiation and storage did not influence TBARS values.

Sensory evaluation showed that irradiation significantly increased sulfury flavor. Because a dramatic increase in sulfur compounds was detected in irradiated samples, the sulfury flavor should be due to the sulfur compounds formed during irradiation.

Irradiation also increased the amounts of acetylaldehyde, 2-methyl butanal, 3-methyl butanal, benzene, and toluene. It was concluded that irradiation significantly influenced the odor and flavor of RTE turkey breast rolls under vacuum packaging conditions.

Therefore, strategies to prevent negative changes in the quality of irradiated RTE turkey breast rolls are needed.

The study is published in Poultry Science 83:1462-1466, August 2004 edition

Source: Poultry Science - August 2004