The objectives of this study were to assess the variation in quality of meat and bone meal (MBM) during an extended storage period (10 weeks) and evaluate the effects of the antioxidant BHT on the oxidative stability of MBM and the performance of broilers fed diets containing these MBM. A freshly produced batch of MBM (41,12% protein and 9,12% fat) was divided in six portions. One portion was stored with no BHT added (CONTROL) and the others were treated with 500mg BHT/kg at day 0 (BHT/0), 7 (BHT/7), 14 (BHT/14), 21 (BHT/21) and 28 (BHT/28). The quality of MBM was measured through weekly samplings and the peroxide value (IP) was the main parameter analysed. After four weeks of storage, a feed trial was carried out using 1,440 male RossXRoss day-old chicks raised in floor pens in an experiment with six treatments and six replicates. The birds were fed ad libitum corn-soybean diets formulated to contain 4% MBM. Results of 42d liveweight, feed intake, feed:gain ratio and mortality and culling were submitted to analysis of variance. Treatment means were compared to CONTROL using Dunnett’s test. Although rancidity was observed in MBM during storage, the levels of IP found (maximum 80meq/kg) did not affect bird performance. In general, the performance of broilers was not affected (p>.05) by feeding MBM oxidized or preserved with BHT.
meat and bone meal; antioxidant; oxidative rancidity; animal by-product; broiler
