Quality enhancement of frozen chicken meat marinated with phosphate alternatives

The effects of phosphate alternatives on meat quality in marinated chicken were investigated with the application of chilling and freezing. Breast muscles were injected with solution of the green weight containing 1.5% NaCl and 2% sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) or phosphate alternatives. Treatment variables consisted of control (-) (no phosphate), control (+) (0.3% STPP), 0.3% prune juice (PJ), 0.3% oyster shell (OS), 0.3% nano-oyster shell (N-OS), and 0.3% yeast and lemon extract (YLE) powder. One-third of the meat samples were stored at 4℃ for 1-day, and the rest of the meats were kept in -18℃ for 7 days. In chilled meat, a lower drip loss was noted for control (+) and YLE, whereas higher cooking yield in YLE compared to all tested groups. Compared with control (+), the other treatments except PJ  showed higher pH, water holding capacity, moisture content, and lower thawing and cooking loss, and shear force. Natural phosphate alternatives except for PJ, improved the lightness (L*) value compared to control (-), and upregulated total protein solubility. However, phosphate alternatives showed similar or higher oxidative stability and impedence measurement compared to control (+), and an extensive effect on myofibrillar fragmentation index. A limited effect was observed for C*, h°, and free amino acids in treated meat. Eventually, the texture profile attributes in cooked of phosphate alternatives improved except for PJ. The results indicate high potential use of the natural additives could be promising and effective methods for replacing synthetic phosphate in chilled and frozen chicken with quality enhancement.