Effects of modified atmosphere storage upon lipid oxidation in cooked turkey and pork as measured by chemical and sensory methods

Precooked pork and turkey were stored at 4{dollar}spcirc{dollar}C for 18 hours and at {dollar}-{dollar}20{dollar}spcirc{dollar}C for three months in atmospheres of air, vacuum, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. TBA values, a trained sensory panel, and a fluorescence analysis were used to measure the extent of lipid oxidation. For both short-term refrigerated storage and long-term frozen storage, vacuum packaging of precooked turkey and pork resulted in more meaty flavor and aroma and less oxidation and rancidity than the other packaging treatments. Turkey and pork samples stored in carbon dioxide and nitrogen atmospheres were less oxidized than those stored in air, but were more oxidized than vacuum packaged meat. Exclusion of oxygen by any means improved the meatiness of precooked turkey and pork and reduced the extent of lipid oxidation and warmed-over flavor.; Sensory scores were most sensitive of the three methods at detecting differences in lipid oxidation among treatments and correlated well with TBA values. Measurement of fluorescent products in both the solvent and aqueous phases of extracted lipid gave variable results and was least sensitive in detecting treatment differences.; Few changes were noted in pH or lipid composition of samples during storage, although moisture content of all samples decreased after three months of frozen storage. Vacuum packaged turkey was darker and redder than other samples after frozen storage, as shown by HunterLab values.