The effect of oil-soluble rosemary extract, sodium erythorbate and their mixture, and the influence of packaging method (air and vacuum packaging) on the quality of cooked turkey meatballs stored at -20 ℃ was determined. The smallest changes in malondialdehyde content were observed in samples with the addition of the natural antioxidant regardless of the packaging method. The mixture of synthetic and natural antioxidants was more effective in retarding lipid oxidation than the synthetic antioxidant, and more desirable results were observed in vacuum-packaged samples than in air-packaged samples. The samples with the addition of oil-soluble rosemary extract were characterised by lower intensity of red colour, but this parameter was more stable during frozen storage. The results of a sensory analysis revealed that the application of oil-soluble rosemary extract with or without sodium erythorbate significantly inhibited the development of warmed-over flavour in cooked poultry products.
Keywords: Turkey meatballs; antioxidants; colour; frozen storage; lipid oxidation; packaging method; sensory quality.