Volatile profile, lipid oxidation and protein oxidation of irradiated ready-to-eat cured turkey meat products

• Irradiation had little effects on lipid oxidation of ready-to-eat cured turkey.
• 4.5 kGy irradiation increased protein oxidation.
• Irradiated samples were isolated due to Strecker/radiolytic degradation products.
• 1.5 kGy irradiation had limited effects on the volatile profile of turkey sausages.
• Dimethyl disulfide can be used as a potential marker for irradiated meat products.

Irradiation had little effects on the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values in ready-to-eat (RTE) turkey meat products, while it increased protein oxidation at 4.5 kGy. The volatile profile analyses indicated that the amount of sulfur compounds increased linearly as doses increased in RTE turkey meat products. By correlation analysis, a positive correlation was found between benzene/ benzene derivatives and alcohols with lipid oxidation, while aldehydes, ketones and alkane, alkenes and alkynes were positively correlated with protein oxidation. Principle component analysis showed that irradiated meat samples can be discriminated by two categories of volatile compounds: Strecker degradation products and radiolytic degradation products. The cluster analysis of volatile data demonstrated that low-dose irradiation had minor effects on the volatile profile of turkey sausages (<1.5 kGy). However, as the doses increased, the differences between the irradiated and non-irradiated cured turkey products became significant.