Quality of poultry meat—an issue of growing importance

Abstract

SummaryThe quality of poultry meat can be described differently depending on the sector of the production process involved and on the preference of the consumers.Female chickens contain more fat than males, and as age increases, the content of both abdominal and total fat increases; fat and protein vary with the strain of bird and are dependent on protein-energy relationship in the diet. The amount of fat in the chicken is important in itself, but also in relation to evisceration yield, shelf life of cut-up parts, and water uptake during water chilling.The chicken tries to maintain a constant relation between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, but it is capable of alteration when feeding different types of fat. The stability and taste of fat and meat respectively are reduced when a large amount of unsaturated fat is fed.Both tenderness and the fat content in the muscles are dependent on size of muscle fibres; thin muscle fibres contain more fat than fibres with a larger diameter.The taste of meat is influenced adversely by fat from fish meal, whereas oats and wheat improve it; milo with a high content of tannin produces off-flavour in meat. Feed additives may have an adverse effect on taste and should be tested in that respect.In the older bird, flavour increases, whereas growth rate does not influence the flavour; low temperatures in the last part of the growing period improve the taste of the meat.During processing, scalding and chilling have a great influence on quality of the meat. Low scalding temperature gives tender meat, which can be further increased during storage. Water chilling is an effective cooling method and maintains good hygienic condition, but it gives rise to both loss of ashes and protein and an increase in drip and cooking loss in relation to water uptake during chilling.