Identifying constituents of whey protein concentrates that reduce the pink color defect in cooked ground turkey

Whey protein concentrate constituents were tested for their ability to reduce naturally occurring pink color defect and pink cooked color induced by sodium nitrite (10 ppm) and nicotinamide (1.0%) in ground turkey. β-lactoglobulin (1.8%), α-lactalbumin (0.8%), bovine serum albumin (0.15–0.3%), lactose (1.0–3.0%), potassium chloride (500–1500 ppm), and ferrous iron chloride (0.3–30 ppm) had no effects on cooked pink color. Lactoferrin (30–5000 ppm) increased or decreased pink color depending on its concentration in samples without added sodium nitrite or nicotinamide. Annatto (0.1–1.0 ppm) reduced pink color whereas the higher concentration of magnesium chloride (22–88 ppm) and ferric iron chloride (0.3–30 ppm) increased pink color in samples with added nicotinamide. Calcium chloride (160–480 ppm) was the only tested constituent that consistently reduced pink cooked color in samples with and without added nitrite and nicotinamide. Due to the variability of whey protein concentrates and the number of constituents that do not reduce pink cooked color, the addition of calcium alone or dried milk minerals containing calcium, phosphate, and citrate, represents a better means to regularly prevent the pink color defect in cooked ground turkey.