Effects of muscle pH and chilling on development of PSE-like turkey breast meat

1. Early post-mortem pH was used to identify PSE-like turkey meat, characterised by a low water-holding capacity and pale colour. In a commercial turkey processing facility, the pH value of turkey breast muscle was measured at 0, 9, 10, 14, 154, 231, and 246 min post mortem. 2. At 14 min post mortem, the carcases were separated into 3 pH classes: low (<5.70), medium (5.70 to 6.18), and high (>6.18). Low pH carcasses (<5.70) had higher drip loss(1.75%) than medium (0.81%) and high pH carcases (0.75%). Furthermore, high pH carcases (>6.18) had a lower L* value (darker) than low and medium pH carcases. 3. The effects of using CO2 'snow' on turkey breast muscle quality were also investigated. Light CO2 'snow' treatment (57 g snow/kg breast) and heavy CO2 treatment (113 g snow/kg breast) resulted in higher drip losses than the control no CO2 snow) group.