Acta Vet. Brno 2009, 78: 497-504

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb200978030497

Quality Indicators of Chicken Broiler Raw and Cooked Meat Depending on Their Sex

Alena Saláková1, Eva Straková2, Veronika Válková1, Hana Buchtová1, Iva Steinhauserová1

1Department of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Czech Republic
2Department of Nutrition, Husbandry and Animal Hygiene, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Czech Republic

Received January 14, 2008
Accepted March 9, 2009

The objective of this study was to compare the quality indicators of chicken breast meat depending on sex, to evaluate individual quality indicators and to find relationships between them. Three groups (A, B and C) of commercial meat-type hybrid broilers ROSS 308 (10 males and 10 females from each group) were used for colour measurement (CIE L*a*b*), pH, chemical analysis (amount of dry matter, fat and collagen) and texture (shear force, hardness, cohesiveness). Cooked meat indicators (texture, colour, pH and chemical indicators) were measured after heat treatment (80 °C, 30 min). In all groups we were able to prove raw meat differences between sexes only in the following indicators: carcass weight (A group P < 0.01, B and C group P < 0.001), breast weight (A group P < 0.01, B and C group P < 0.001) and pH value (A group P < 0.05, B group P < 0.001, C group P < 0.01). Differences were found (P < 0.05) between sexes in texture indicators (hardness or cohesiveness), breast meat of males was more tender. The cooked breast meat was significantly (P < 0.05) lighter, redder and more yellow than the raw meat. Raw meat pH had a significant negative correlation (r = -0.41, P < 0.001) with raw meat lightness. Cooked meat pH had a significant correlation with cooked colour indicators. The amount of collagen had significant correlations with shear force (P < 0.001), hardness (P < 0.001) and cooking loss (P < 0.01).