Effect of dietary vitamin E on the oxidative stability, flavor, color, and volatile profiles of refrigerated and frozen turkey breast meat

In this study, the effect of varying dietary vitamin E levels on the oxidative stability, flavor, color, and volatile profiles of refrigerated and frozen turkey breast meat was examined. Nicholas turkey toms were reared on diets containing vitamin E levels as dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate equivalent to the NRC recommendations (12 and 10 IU/kg from 0 to 8 and 9 to 18 wk, respectively) and 5x, 10x, and 25x the NRC diet. Two other diets were evaluated and included feeding the NRC diet until 15 and 16 wk followed by a diet containing 20x the NRC vitamin E level. All turkeys were processed in a commercial turkey processing plant and breast meat scored for color. Breast meat was excised from four carcasses per treatment and evaluated after refrigeration (1 and 7 d) or frozen storage (30, 90, 150 d) for oxidative stability and sensory quality by TEA analysis, descriptive flavor profiling, and headspace gas chromatography. The TEA values were inversely related to the dietary vitamin E levels. Refrigerated samples had TEA values 78 to 88% lower for the 10x and 25x vitamin E treatments, respectively, than for the NRC control treatment. No differences in TEA values (refrigerated samples) were detected for the 10x, 25x, and 20x (3 wk feeding duration) or across all treatments for samples frozen for 5 mo. The 10x and 25x NRC diets produced the most typical and acceptable turkey meat flavors with the fewest oxidized off-flavor notes for both fresh and frozen samples as opposed to the more oxidized flavor notes detected in the control samples. Mean color scores increased, indicative of less pale meat, as the level and duration of feeding dietary vitamin E increased. These findings showed that varying dietary vitamin E levels significantly influenced the oxidative stability and functionality of turkey breast meat.