Effect of dietary conjugated linoleic acid, irradiation, and packaging conditions on the quality characteristics of raw broiler breast fillets.

Skinless breast fillets were harvested from broilers fed with 0, 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0% conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) for 3 weeks. Fillets were either vacuum or aerobically packaged, then irradiated at 0 or 3.0 kGy using a Linear Accelerator. Breast fillets were analyzed for thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), volatile profiles, and color at 0 and 7 days of storage at 4°C. Dietary CLA reduced TBARS, but had no effect on volatile profiles and color of breast fillets. Color a* value of breast fillets increased after irradiation. Irradiation also induced production of many volatiles, mainly alkanes and alkenes, which could be the breakdown products of unsaturated fatty acids and amino acids. High amount of dimethyl disulfide was detected in the volatiles of irradiated fillets. Low level of hexanal and pentanal in volatiles, together with low TBARS values, indicated that lipid oxidation of breast fillets after irradiation is not a big concern.