INCREASED STORAGE STABILITY OF CHICKEN MUSCLE BY DIETARY ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL SUPPLEMENTATION

Chicks were fed on diets containing 5, 25, 65 or 180 mg alpha-tocopher yl acetate/kg for 24 days and the stability of both raw and cooked mus cle stored at 4-degrees and -20-degrees-C determined by the thiobarbit uric acid assay. Concentrations of thiobarbituric acid-reacting substa nces (TBARS) were 4 to 10-fold higher in cooked muscle than in the cor responding raw muscle samples. TBARS concentrations in cooked muscle f rom chicks fed on high alpha-tocopherol diets were significantly lower during refrigerated or frozen storage than those in muscle from chick s given low alpha-tocopherol. A similar protective effect of alpha-toc opherol supplementation was observed in raw muscle samples during froz en (-20-degrees-C), but not refrigerated (4-degrees-C), storage. The r esults confirm that incorporation of alpha-tocopherol into muscle by d ietary supplementation is an effective means of prolonging the shelf-l ife of poultry products.