## 3 Results and Discussion
### Trace Elements Retention in Goose Meat After Thermal Treatment  
Heat transfer, temperature, duration of heat treatment, and the specific heat processing method all play critical roles in the physical and chemical changes that can affect the nutritional quality of meat, including mineral retention. When direct heat is applied--such as through hot air during roasting or surface contact during pan frying--thermal energy penetrates the meat gradually from the exterior to the interior. This process forms an outer layer or crust that may help reduce protein degradation and, consequently, the loss of associated minerals [37]. In our study, chromium retention in skinless goose breast meat was significantly higher (\(p\leq 0.001\)) than in meat with skin (80.0% vs. 54.5%; Table 4). This may be attributed to greater cooking losses (CL) observed in meat with skin (36.3 vs. 45.4%, respectively; Table S1). Another contributing factor could be the higher fat content of meat with skin [29], as chromium may be lost along with the fat during heat processing. Chromium retention was also significantly higher (\(p\leq 0.05\)) in breast muscles subjected to oven roasting (OCR) compared to grilling (G). This may be explained by the fact that hot-air roasting rapidly raises the meat surface temperature above 70 \({}^{\circ}\)C, causing surface drying and crust formation, which reduces internal fluid loss [66; 67]. Although CL in OCR-treated meat was lower than in grilled meat, the difference was not statistically significant (42.1% vs. 47.1%). A significant interaction (\(p\leq 0.001\)) was observed between meat type and heat treatment regarding Cr retention. In meat with skin, WBC-treated samples showed significantly higher Cr retention (with significantly lower CL--Table S1) than PF and G, while retention was significantly (\(p\leq 0.05\)) lower after grilling compared to OCR. The better retention in WBC-treated meat may be due to the protective effect of the skin, which acted as a barrier against the penetration of chromium into the leak from meat, thereby reducing mineral losses. Iodine retention was also significantly higher (\(p\leq 0.001\)) in meat with skin compared to skinless meat (37.0 vs. 16.4%), despite greater CL in the former (Table S1). Regarding heat treatment methods, WBC and grilling (G) resulted in significantly higher iodine retention (\(p\leq 0.001\)) than OCR and PF, likely due to the lower CL observed for WBC (Table S1). A significant (\(p\leq 0.001\)) interaction was also observed between the meat type (with or without skin) and the heat treatment. In skinless meat, significantly greater iodine retention was observed following WBC and grilling than after frying (PF) and OCR, which again corresponds with lower CL values (Table S1). A similar trend was found in meat with skin, as the lowest iodine retention occurred after OCR and PF, while significantly higher values were recorded after WBC and G (18.5% and 18.3% vs. 73.6% and 37.4%, respectively). In the case of manganese, similarly to findings reported by [PERSON] et al. [29], no significant differences in retention were observed based on meat type or heat treatment method, despite statistically significant differences in CL (Table S1). Bromine retention was significantly higher (\(p\leq 0.001\)) in skinless meat compared to meat with skin (83.9% vs. 71.9%; Table 4), which may again be due to lower CL in skinless samples (Table S1). No statistically significant effect of heat treatment alone was observed for Br retention. However, the interaction between skinless meat and heat treatment was significant. In particular, PF and G resulted in significantly higher Br retention (\(p\leq 0.001\)) than OCR and WBC. Considering the potentially toxic effects of bromine and the risk of exceeding the Tolerable Daily Intake, WBC appears to be the most favorable heat treatment from a health perspective. This is because cooking reduces Br levels by losing meat juices containing extracellular bromine. \begin{table}