Residual Pinkness in Cooked Turkey and Pork Muscle

Abstract Pectoralis muscles from 12 and 18 week old turkeys and two porcine muscles, namely Longissimus dorsi and Psoas major, were examined for their red color after cooking at internal temperatures of 65, 75, 85, and 95° refrigerated storage of up to four days. By analysis of variance, temperature, storage time, and their interaction were found to influence red color. Proper cooking, achieved when an end-point temperature of 85°C is reached, did not totally produce a redless meat color. A pink tinge was still detected regardless of the type of meat an disappeared over several days of storage. Polynomial equations specific to muscle type, as well as a more general model for red color prediction, are presented.