Palatability of Turkeys Fed Experimental Diets Containing Aureomycin and Fish Products

Abstract

RECENT interest in the marketing of very young turkeys for roasting and frying has led to the re-examination of the diets commonly fed, from the standpoint of palatability of the cooked meat. The widespread use of antibiotics such as aureomycin, bacitracin, penicillin, streptomycin, and terramycin in turkey diets also raises the question of possible effects on palatability. This report deals with a tasting panel’s judgments on the palatability of turkeys fed the antibiotic aureomycin. It also deals with the panel’s findings regarding fishy and other off-flavors which might be traced to the use of typical starting diets containing fish products.It has previously been reported that flavor of turkeys 8 to 16 weeks old was adversely affected when as little as 0.375 percent fortified cod liver oil was fed with 14 percent white fish meal in the starting diet (Marsden et al., 1952), and that small but significant amounts of …