Two hundred male Ross broiler chicks were raised from 10 to 40 days of age and fed a corn-soy diet with 4% of fresh or oxidized poultry offal fat to evaluate the effects of dietary fat quality on broiler performance and on oxidative stability of frozen thigh meat during storage. Fresh poultry fat, characterized by low concentration of oxidation products determined by specific absorbances of 5.80 and 0.69 at 232 and 270 nm, respectively, was supplied by a local renderer and stored frozen (-18ºC) until diets were produced. Oxidized poultry fat was obtained by heating the fresh poultry fat in a fryer at 110-120 ºC until specific absorbances reached 11.33 (at 232 nm) and 2.31 (at 270 nm), which show increased concentration of oxidation compounds. At 41 days of age, 136 birds were slaughtered and carcass characteristics were evaluated. Skinless and deboned raw thigh meat was packed and stored for 9 months in a non-illuminated freezer at -20ºC. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were assessed monthly in the frozen samples to evaluate the oxidative status of stored meat. Birds performance and carcass characteristics were not affected by the presence of oxidized poultry fat in the diet. After six months of storage, the oxidative stability of frozen thigh meat from broilers fed oxidized poultry fat was reduced, indicated by higher TBARS values.
carcass and meat yield; chicken meat quality; lipid oxidation; meat color; TBARS
