were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir (with GMP and HACCP compliance) using industrial slaughtering techniques. The dietary history and production practises of the ostriches were unknown but all birds were from the same farm, and were thus assumed to have received similar diets and management conditions. Carcasses were chilled at 4±1 °C for a minimum of 24 h post-mortem. Iliofibularis muscles were removed from the carcasses after removal of external fat and epimysial connective tissue and were grouped equally for each of the 3 replications of the study. They were immediately transported to a commercial meat company (Bonfilet, Istanbul, Turkey) under hygienic conditions and processed immediately upon arrival.
Muscles were cut into pieces, about 2.5×2.5×2.5 cm cubes. The cubes were divided into five groups and were portioned into 200±5 g samples (randomly distributed, approximately 13 meat cubes per pack).