Effect of the addition of ground rosemary on the quality and shelf-life of turkey meatballs during refrigerated storage

1. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of the addition of ground rosemary on the quality and shelf-life of turkey meatballs. Heat-treated vacuum-packed turkey meatballs were stored at 3 +/- 1 degrees C. 2. The rate of oxidative and hydrolytic changes during refrigerated storage was slower in meatballs containing 1% of rosemary. The samples with rosemary were characterised by significantly lower values of pH and water activity than control samples. The addition of rosemary inhibited the growth of psychrotrophic, coliform and Clostridium sp. bacteria. 3. The sensory quality of meatballs decreased over storage, first in control samples and later also in those containing rosemary. Warmed-over flavour was detected after 12d of storage in meatballs spiced with rosemary and after 3 d in control samples. A sour flavour was not perceptible in meatballs containing rosemary. The obtained results confirm the beneficial effect of rosemary added to poultry meat products.