EFFECT OF TIME POSTMORTEM ON DEVELOPMENT OF PINK DISCOLORATION IN COOKED TURKEY BREAST MEAT

This study investigated effects of time post-mortem on development of pink discoloration in turkey Pectoralis major muscles. Muscles were ha rvested immediately after slaughter, ground, and cooked at 0 to 24 h p ost-mortem in 4-h increments. Changes in pH, color, and denaturation o f myoglobin during cooking were observed. The pH of raw and marinated product declined post-mortem; however, this decline was 0.13 pH units less for meat that was marinated. Aging muscles less than 8 h resulted in a decrease in pH during cooking, whereas muscles aged for longer t ime periods had an increase in pH during cooking. Moreover, aging decr eased the degree of redness and increased myoglobin denaturation in th e cooked product. Data suggest that one possible reason for pink disco loration in cooked turkey meat is reduced sensitivity of myoglobin to heat denaturation due to further processing before completion of the r igor process.