The effect of ethoxyquin on the quality of ground poultry mortality carcasses preserved by lactic acid fermentation and phosphoric acid stabilization

Fermentation and acidification have been shown to preserve the protein quality of ground poultry coproducts, but the effects of these processes on their lipid stability are unknown, especially in the presence of an antioxidant. To evaluate the effects of these treatments on lipid quality, ground poultry mortality carcasses, with and without an addition of 500 ppm ethoxyquin, were stabilized for 14 and 45 d by lactic acid fermentation or acidification with 2.76, 5.07, 7.35, or 9.65% feed-grade H3PO4. Ethoxyquin treatment significantly (P < 0.001) improved the oxidative stability of lipids from all storage treatments. However, the addition of ethoxyquin increased (P < 0.001) the levels of volatile N (VN) from 2.51 to 3.18% in products stored for 45 d and resulted in an increase (P < 0.001) in free fatty acids in all ensiled products. Ethoxyquin addition had no effect (P > 0.120) on the fatty acid profile of products stored for 14 d but significantly increased (P < 0.001) the levels of stearic (C18:0) and arachidonic acids (C20:4) in products stored for 45 d. In this experiment, the addition of ethoxyquin to preservation systems for the short-term storage of poultry mortality carcasses improved the lipid quality of the ground material without compromising the protein quality or affecting proximate analysis parameters. However, the increased oxidative stability of mortality silage materials that contain ethoxyquin may contribute to enhanced microbial or enzymatic activities that result in proteolytic or lypolytic breakdown products following longer periods of storage.