Effectiveness of Tocopherol as Antioxidant in Chicken Jerky

This study was performed to determine the effectiveness of tocopherol as antioxidant in chicken jerky. The marinade for jerky was prepared in three formulations with different tocopherol contents at 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 300 mg/ kg, as well as with synthetic antioxidant (BHT) and without antioxidants. Accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT) was performed based on a pre-determined Q(10) value of 1.30, where storage of the jerky at 57 degrees C for 4 weeks are equivalent to 61.5 days storage at room temperature. The result obtained has shown that there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in peroxide value (primary oxidation), while TBARS value (secondary oxidation) of chicken jerky with tocopherol was significantly (p<0.05) lower than sample without tocopherol. All chicken jerky samples were found to have darker colour and loss intensity of redness and yellowness throughout the storage. Chicken jerky with tocopherol showed that there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in water activity compared to sample without antioxidant. All the samples became acidic throughout the storage and showed significant difference (p<0.05), while the total plate count for all samples were less than 10(6) cfu/g. There was no significant different (p>0.05) in overall acceptance of chicken jerky with tocopherol, BHT and sample without antioxidant, during the sensory evaluation. As a conclusion, this study showed that the addition of tocopherol as antioxidant had reduced oxidative stress of chicken jerky and formulation 300 mg/kg tocopherol can be developed to produce chicken jerky product with high oxidative stability.