Sheehy et al. Cooking and further processing, such as grinding and restructuring, increase the optimum supplementation level because they disrupt the lipoprotein complex of cell membranes, exposing more lipid surface area to lipid attack. Jensen et al. Thus, the vitamin E intake of even the control birds approached the minimum levels recommended by researchers to promote meat quality. The supplementation regimen began when the broilers were 10 days old and continued until slaughter 32 days later.
Turkey muscle is even more prone to oxidative damage than broiler muscle.
First, the difference could be due to higher concentrations of PUFA in turkey. The researchers reported that at the higher level of supplementation, meat oxidative stability was significantly greater during short-term frozen storage of 28 days. Greater oxidative stability was also evident, at times significantly, in supplemented birds after 101 and 108 days of storage. Wen et al. Apart from its effectiveness in limiting oxidation, vitamin E supplementation offers the poultry industry two other benefits in improving meat quality.