Lipid oxidation was assessed by the 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBARS)extraction method of Lynch and Frei (1993). Core samples from each sample, wrapped in tinfoil and snap frozen in liquid nitrogen, were kept frozen (−20 °C) until analysed
(btwo weeks). Analysis was conducted on 1 g of frozen core sample and the TBARS concentrations were calculated using 1,1,3,3-tetramethoxypropane (0–20 μM) as a standard and expressed as milligram malonaldehyde (MDA) per kilogram of meat.