Effect of gamma irradiation on the primary and secondary products of lipid oxidation in raw chicken meat, stored under different temperatures and packaging – a meta-analysis

Abstract A meta-analysis on the effect of gamma irradiation on lipid oxidation products in raw chicken meat subjected to different temperatures of storage and packageing was carried out. A total of 11 studies were examined in regard to the peroxide value (POV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). The high heterogeneity in the studies was decisive for the selection of the random effects model applied on the raw mean difference (effect size) for the analysis of the data. The results of the meta-analysis showed that gamma irradiation increased the contents of the primary (POV) and secondary products (TBARS) of lipid oxidation in the raw chicken meat (P<0.001). Further, meta-regression and the examined covariates indicated significant influence of the dose of radiation on the formation of POV (P<0.001), whereas TBARS contents tended to depend on the package of the meat. In most of the studies included in the meta-analysis, the contents of the lipid oxidation products remained in acceptable levels and the treatment with gamma rays did not affect negatively the high nutritive value of the meat.