Pale and Normal Turkey Breast Enhancement Through the Utilization of Turkey Collagen in a Chunked and Formed Turkey Breast Roll

Six trials of 4 treatments (pale, pale + 1.5% collagen, normal, and normal + 1.5% collagen) were utilized to test the effects of raw material and turkey collagen inclusion on the quality of deli turkey breast. The raw material was chunked and formed to increase surface area for collagen interactions and to allow for thorough mixing of pale and normal raw material into the product. Inclusion of collagen improved product texture through increasing the protein's ability to bind with each other in pale meat and was effective in decreasing cook and purge loss in both pale and normal treatments. Furthermore, purge loss was similar for the pale treatment with collagen and the normal treatment without collagen. Collagen inclusion did not affect color, but normal treatments were both darker and redder than pale treatments. Turkey collagen is effective in increasing water-holding capacity and improving texture when either pale or normal raw material is incorporated into the product. Therefore, turkey collagen demonstrates the potential to add value to turkey breast deli products.