Variation and Pearson correlation coefficients of Warner-Bratzler shear force measurements within broiler breast fillets

Abstract

Measurements of texture properties related to tenderness at different locations within deboned broiler breast fillets have been used to validate techniques for texture analysis and establish correlations between different texture evaluation methods. However, it has been demonstrated that meat texture can vary from location to location within individual muscles. The objective of our study was to investigate the intramuscular variation and Pearson correlation coefficients of Warner-Bratzler (WB) shear force measurements within early deboned broiler breast fillets and the effect of deboning time and cold storage on the variation and correlation coefficients. Broiler breast fillets were removed from carcasses early postmortem (2 h) and later postmortem (24 h). Storage treatments of the 2 h samples included 0 d, 7 d at 3 degrees C, 7 d at -20 degrees C, and 6 d at -20 degrees C plus 1 d at 3 degrees C. The WB shears of cooked fillets were measured using a TA-XTPlus Texture Analyzer and a TA-7 WB shear type blade. Our results showed that although the average WB shear force values differed within the 0-d, 2-h fillets, compared with the variation among the fillets within the treatment, the difference within a fillet is still evidently small. The Pearson correlation coefficients were significant between the locations; however, values of the correlation coefficients depended on the paired locations. Location differences in the WB shear values and the correlation coefficient values between them changed with deboning time and cold storage. These results demonstrate that the variation of WB shear force measurements is substantial within early deboned broiler breast fillets and the Pearson correlation coefficient values of the measurements vary among the locations. Both the variation and the Pearson correlation coefficients can be affected by postmortem aging time and storage. The differences in the means between the locations in early deboned breasts are much smaller than the variation among the fillets.