Influence of temperature and freezing time on broiler chicken meat colour.

Abstract

Due to the fact that meat colour represents an important aspect for sensorial evaluation of any food product,research in the field of poultry meat processing regarding efficient methods for hoarding/storage on long term ofindustrially slaughtered poultry carcasses approaches a continuous finding/optimization of certain solutions foravoiding negative consequences due to oxidation, which could include colour loss and/or its modification.The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of three storage regimes differing by temperature and time(L = -14°C, 30 days; L = -16°C, 60 days; L = -18°C, 90 days) on three anatomical cut regions (breast, upper thighand lower thigh), to characterize the colour of broiler chicken meat. Objective description of colour for frozen anddefrosted chicken meat was realised through the CIEL*a*b* Cartesian coordinate system.Overall, the preservation method determines a higher luminosity at samples gathered from L batch chickencarcasses for breast and upper thigh musculature, and L for lower thigh musculature in comparison with thecounterparts from the other experimental batches