Probiotic supplementation and fast freezing to improve quality attributes and oxidation stability of frozen chicken breast muscle

•Probiotic and freezing effects on oxidation of chicken breast were determined.•Broilers were supplemented with 250 mg of probiotic/kg of basal diet for 45 days.•Breast muscles were assigned to either slow (−30 °C) or fast freezing (−70 °C).•Probiotic feeding prevented lipid oxidation in frozen/thawed chicken breasts.•Fast freezing decreased thaw/purge loss and suppressed lipid oxidation.

The study was conducted to determine the effects of probiotic supplementation and fast freezing on quality attributes and oxidation stability of frozen/thawed chicken breast muscle. Broilers (n = 168) were fed with a basal diet or the basal diet plus 250 mg of Sporulin (three strains of Bacillus subtilis)/kg of basal diet for 45 days. Pairs of breasts were separated from chicken carcasses and randomly assigned to either slow (−30 °C) or fast freezing (−70 °C) and stored at −30 °C. After thawing at 2 °C for 24 h, half of the thawed breasts from each treatment were stored for an additional 48 h. Probiotic supplementation increased phospholipid content in breasts (P < 0.05), but substantially delayed both primary and secondary lipid oxidation products shown by the results from peroxide value and 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (P < 0.05). Further, the breasts from probiotic chicken group had a significantly lower nonheme iron content than those from control chicken group. Fast freezing significantly reduced thaw/purge loss and minimized lipid oxidation (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that oxidative deterioration and increased purge/thaw loss of frozen chicken breasts can be effectively minimized by probiotic supplementation coupled with fast freezing.