Lipid Oxidation Potential of Beef, Chicken, and Pork

Beef and pork longissimus dorsi and semimembranosus muscles and chicken breast and thigh muscles were excised 24 hr postmortem from carcasses of marketweight grain-finished feedlot beef cattle, marke-tweight hogs on a typical finishing diet, and broilers on a commercial grain diet. Muscle samples were immediately ground and formed into patties and stored raw or after cooking, at 4°C (cooked) or ?20°C (raw and cooked). TBA values (on sample weight basis) of frozen raw samples were higher for beef and pork than for chicken, as was heme iron content. However, TBA values of cooked samples were highest for chicken thigh muscles, which contained the most polyunsaturated fatty acids, at all storage temperatures.