Assessment of Meat Quality and Shelf Life from Broilers Fed with Different Sources and Concentrations of Methionine

Abstract

A trial with different concentrations of DL-methionine (DLM) and DL-2-hydroxy-4-methylthiobutanoic acid (DL-HMTBA) in broiler feed was performed to investigate their effect on the meat quality parameters and the shelf life of breast fillet. In total, fillets from 210 male broiler chickens (Ross 308) were tested in seven groups with 30 animals each. Three different concentrations (0.04, 0.12, and 0.32%; on an equimolar basis) of either DLM or DL-HMTBA were added to a basal diet, summing up to seven treatment groups. After slaughter, fillets were packed aerobically and stored at 4°C. The investigated parameters comprised measurements of microbial as well as physicochemical parameters, such as pH, drip loss, cooking loss, and color measurements. Additionally, sensory investigations were conducted and shelf life was calculated. Mean pH values were between 6.1 and 6.4. Drip loss values were low, with mean values below 0.4%. The cooking loss ranged between 22% and 28% on average. The fillets showed a normal initial microbial quality (2.5 log10 cfu/g) and spoilage process with microbial counts of 8.5 log10 cfu/g at the end of storage. The study revealed a significant influence of methionine supplementation on the quality of broiler breast meat in comparison with the basal group. Methionine supplementation led to higher pH values and a higher water binding. Higher concentrations of methionine had a positive influence on the water-holding capacity by lowering the cooking loss. The L∗ value showed a significant negative correlation to the methionine concentration supplemented. No differences in physicochemical as well as sensory parameters could be detected between both methionine sources. The fillets showed a normal sensory spoilage process and a shelf life of 6 d. White striping was positively correlated to fillet weight as well as color values and significantly affected the Purchase Decision, the sensory investigation, and thus the shelf life of the samples.

Paternal Dietary Methionine Supplementation Improves Carcass Traits and Meat Quality of Chicken Progeny

“…Drip loss is considered a relevant indicator for determining the quality of meat where excessive drip loss is not desired. Drip loss (%) decreased in MET group, consistent with previous studies reported that increasing Met supplementation positively impact drip loss in broiler meat [ 44 , 46 , 47 ]. Meat color is a characteristic of importance to consumer acceptability.…”

“…Meat color is a characteristic of importance to consumer acceptability. In general, dietary Met supplementation led to higher lightness and redness values in breast muscles and redness in thigh muscles, with similar results also observed in previous studies [ 16 , 46 ]. There is a fluctuation in the meat color values between the thigh and breast muscles of different groups, all were in the normal range for measures of good meat quality.…”

“…The pH value has a vital effect on meat quality, influencing the attributes responsible for processing suitability, nutritional properties, and shelf life of meat [ 43 ]. Met supplementation resulted in higher pH 24h values, as reported in former studies [ 44 , 45 , 46 ]. Tenderness has a significant impact on the meat’s consumer preference, and the dietary Met decreased shear force.…”

Physical quality characteristics of breast and leg meat of slow- and fast-growing broilers raised in different housing systems

“…The colour of broiler meat is probably one of the most essential visual factors affecting the purchasing decisions of consumers in the market (Wideman et al, 2016). It depends on a large number of factors such as genotype, slaughter age, sex, housing condition, diet, pre-slaughter stress, and some muscle myopathies as white striping (Siekman et al, 2018;Albrecht et al, 2019;Qamar et al, 2019). Almasi et al (2015) reported that indoor treatment had a lower impact on breast meat than the outdoor system.…”

Effect of feeding histidine and β-alanine on carnosine concentration, growth performance, and meat quality of broiler chickens

“…Intermediate values (2.5 and 1.5) were allowed. These data were used to calculate the sensory index ( SI ) for every fillet according to Albrecht et al. (2019a ).…”