Effect of novel infrared–ohmic thawing method on the thawing rate and minced turkey breast quality

Abstract

SummaryThe study evaluated the effect of the ohmic thawing method with IR pre‐treatment (unilateral and bilateral) on ground turkey breast that was frozen using various freezing methods, including snap freezing, freezing at −70 °C and −20 °C. The results revealed that the thawing time in ohmic thawing with unilateral and bilateral IR pre‐treatment (in the snap freezing method) was 69.23% and 50.14% shorter compared to the ohmic thawing method without pre‐treatment, respectively. Additionally, the snap freezing method exhibited a significantly higher thawing rate compared to the other freezing methods. Implementing IR pre‐treatment, particularly bilaterally, along with snap freezing, resulted in a reduction of all losses ranging from 20% to 70%. The results of Raman spectroscopy showed that the ohmic thawing method with bilateral IR pre‐treatment resulted in better preservation of protein secondary structure, protein solubility and reduced oxidation of frozen turkey meat. Although the pH changes were not affected by the thawing method, the pH value decreased as the freezing speed reduced. The preservation of meat colour quality was enhanced by increasing the freezing speed and implementing IR pre‐treatment. The results indicate that using IR pre‐treatment can enhance the positive effects of ohmic thawing. Also, the IR type applied showed better results obtained in bilateral mode (P > 0.05).