Author
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YOUNG, LOUIS |
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LYON, CLYDE |
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Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 8/30/1996 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Food processors have found that if they remove poultry meat from the bone too soon after slaughter, the meat can be very tough. The only solution presently available to this problem is to let the meat "rest" on the carcass before removing it from the bone, but this resting period is costly in terms of personnel, equipment, and refrigeration. A potentially useful method for reducing these costs by adding calcium to the meat immediately after slaughter was evaluated. The method is affective in reducing the incidence of tough chicken meat, but side effects reduce the meat's juiciness and yield. Commercial exploitation of this tenderizing technology awaits development of methods for controlling these side effects. Technical Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of marinades containing varying calcium concentrations on the biochemical and texture characteristics of peri-rigor chicken breast fillets. Breast muscles from 400 broiler chickens were excised immediately post-mortem and marinated in 0, 50, 100, 150, or 200 mM CaCl-2. The treatments had no effects on meat pH either before or after cooking but as calcium concentration increased, the normal post-mortem conversion of ATP to IMP increased as evidenced by R-values. Calcium treatment at all levels tested improved meat tenderness, but both marinade absorption and cooking losses increased as the calcium concentration in the marinades increased. It was concluded that while treating peri-rigor breast muscle with calcium might be useful in reducing or eliminating the conditioning period often needed to assure tender chicken, methods must be developed for restoring the moisture binding properties which are damaged by the calcium. |
