Reduction in lipid oxidation by incorporation of encapsulated sodium tripolyphosphate in ground turkey

Ground turkey, with 1% NaCl, was incorporated with no sodium tripolyphosphate (control, nSTP), unencapsulated STP (uSTP; 0.3% or 0.5%), encapsulated STP (eSTP; 0.3% or 0.5% active, phosphate basis), or a blend (0.3% uSTP plus 0.2% eSTP). Encapsulate (hydrogenated vegetable oil) was designed to melt at 74 °C. Treatments were stored (4, 24 h at 3 °C) before being cooked to two different endpoints (EPT; 74, 79 °C) followed by post-cooked storage (0, 5, 10 days). An improvement of 77% (0.3% eSTP) and 80% (0.5% eSTP) in the reduction of TBARS was found in comparison to corresponding uSTP. The blend produced a 62% improvement compared to uSTP (0.5%) while maintaining cook yield. CIE a* values were highest at both EPT and post-cooked storage times beyond 0 day for eSTP. Meat manufacturing procedures that entail a delayed thermal processing step will benefit by an improvement in lipid oxidation control through the use of encapsulated phosphates.