Postrigor tumble marination strategies for improving color and water-holding capacity in normal and pale broiler breast fillets.

Pale or pale, soft, and exudative-like meat can be caused by a decline in pH early postmortem while carcass temperatures are still high. This decrease in pH leads to protein denaturation, attributing to the pale color and poor water-holding capacity that is characteristic of this lesser quality meat. Marination with NaCl and phosphates has been shown to improve protein functionality, thereby reducing lost meat yield and improving meat quality. However, there are few studies relating marination with phosphates to improvements in pale meat. Therefore, the purpose of this experiment was to determine if meat quality improvements could be obtained in pale meat via marination with various phosphate and NaCl treatments without altering the quality and stability of normal or pale meat. The treatments used in this study were 1) sodium tripolyphosphate, an industry control; 2) a high pH phosphate (11.9); 3) a sodium tripolyphosphate and high pH mixture; 4) an agglomerated phosphate; and 5) a nonagglomerated phosphate. The marinades used in this study increased the pH, decreased the L* values of the pale fillets, and improved water-holding capacity. There were no significant differences in overall flavor preference for any of the 5 phosphate treatments. There was also no difference in oxidation or shelf-life trends in either the pale or normal fillets marinated with each of the 5 treatments. The results of this study were that marination with phosphates can be used to marinate pale meat without altering flavor, increasing the development of oxidation, or reducing shelf life.