Lipid Oxidation in Chicken Nuggets as Affected by Meat Type, Phosphate and Packaging

Chicken nuggets were manufactured from either hand deboned chicken breast meat or mechanically deboned chicken meat (MDCM) obtained from backs and necks. The effects of vacuum packaging and sodium acid pyrophosphate (SAPP) on lipid oxidation during 6 weeks of frozen storage were studied. Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations, determined by an HPLC procedure, was used as an index of oxidative rancidity. Breast meat nuggets were less prone to oxidation than MDCM nuggets. Vacuum packaged breast meat nuggets containing SAPP exhibited the least oxidative rancidity. However, the addition of SAPP to MDCM nuggets significantly reduced lipid oxidation (P<0.05), and resulted in MDA values not significantly different from the breast meat nuggets without SAPP. Differences in fatty acid composition at the beginning and the end of the storage period indicated that certain long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids were the main sources of oxidative rancidity. Sensory evaluation yielded results which were in close agreement with the MDA data.