The aim of this study was to establish if ostrich fillets (Musculus iliofibularis) that are frozen and thawed, using commercial parameters, differ from the fresh fillets from the same bird. This ensures that the “bird effect” is constant and only the treatment effect
is measured. The differences investigated include the fillets' physical properties (pH, moisture retention, colour and shear force) and the muscles' lipid oxidation (TBARS) and free carbonyl production (protein oxidation).