At time 0, 7, 14 and 21 days, the control samples (F4) presented higher MDA values (mg/kg), which were statistically different (p ≤ 0.05) from the other samples containing bixin and norbixin (Table 1 ), suggesting that carotenoids acted as antioxidant agents, reducing the formation of secondary products
during lipid oxidation of burgers. Similar results were found for hake meatballs prepared with annatto dye and stored at -18°C (Sancho et al., 2011).