Abstract
This study aimed at evaluating the levels of moisture, protein, water to protein ratio, and water absorption during chilling of chicken giblets (heart, liver, and gizzard) to set legal limits of water absorption during this process. The survey was conducted in the southern Brazil, the largest broiler-producing region of this country. Giblets (heart, liver, and gizzard) were collected fresh from the processing line after evisceration and at the exit of the chiller after the immersion process from two processing plants. One of the plants (PP1) processes small chickens (1,100g live weight) and PP2 processes chickens with 2,800g live weight. In total, 448 samples were collected. Laboratory tests were performed in duplicate for each parameter measured. The results show that moisture levels of fresh giblets were higher in the gizzard, followed by the liver and the heart, whereas in chilled giblets, the gizzard still maintained the highest moisture level, but was followed by the heart and then the liver. Both in fresh and chilled samples, the liver presented the highest protein content, followed by the gizzard and the heart. Water to protein ratios were higher in chilled than in fresh samples, and was highest in the heart, followed by the gizzard and the liver. After immersion in the chiller, the heart presented the highest water absorption rate (6.59%), which was significantly higher compared with those of the liver (4.16%) and the gizzard (4.51%). Considering that the water absorption rates obtained both in fresh and chilled chicken giblets were below 8.00%, the following upper limits of water absorption are suggested for chicken giblet processing in Brazil: 7.0% for the heart, and 5.0% for the gizzard and the liver.
Highlights
Consumers’ complaints on allegedly high levels of water in frozen chicken carcasses and parts have received attention of the media
Maximum water uptake during pre-chilling should be no more than 8% (Sarcinelli et al, 2007), while there are specific moisture and protein levels to be observed for different parts of the carcass (Normative Instruction N° 032/2010 of the Ministry of Agriculture – MAPA)
This study aimed at evaluating water, protein, and water absorption rates of chicken giblets during chilling with the objective of establishing water absorption limits during this process and contributing for the discussion on the establishment of legal requirements in Brazil
Summary
Consumers’ complaints on allegedly high levels of water in frozen chicken carcasses and parts have received attention of the media. Pre-chilling carcasses by immersion in cold water is not the only method of chilling, but it is the most frequently used in Brazilian chicken processing plants. Maximum water uptake during pre-chilling should be no more than 8% (Sarcinelli et al, 2007), while there are specific moisture and protein levels to be observed for different parts of the carcass (Normative Instruction N° 032/2010 of the Ministry of Agriculture – MAPA).
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