Effect of replacing dietary vitamin E by sage on performance and meatiness of spent hens, and the oxidative stability of sausages produced from their meat

1. A total of 3960 hens (half ISA Warren and half Dekalb White) were housed in 18 compartments with 220 hens each. The effect of replacing dietary vitamin E by sage on productivity, meat yield and oxidative stability of sausages was studied. 2. One third of all animals received either a vitamin E deficient diet (negative control) or diets supplemented with 30mg/kg alpha-tocopherylacetate (positive control) or 25g sage leaves/kg. At slaughter, meat yield was assessed and sausages were produced (n=12 per treatment). 3. The omission of vitamin E did not impair the oxidative stability of the raw sausage material or the spiced sausages in comparison to the positive control. Sage supplementation improved oxidative stability after 7m of frozen storage, but not after 1, 4 and 10m. Spice addition during meat processing had an antioxidant effect regardless of dietary treatment. Diet supplementation of any type did not affect laying performance and sausage meat yield. 4. Feeding antioxidants to spent hens seemed to be not as efficient as in growing chickens, while seasoning with spices during sausage production proved to be a feasible way to delay lipid oxidation.