WATER-HOLDING PROPERTIES OF THERMALLY PRECONDITIONED CHICKEN BREAST AND LEG MEAT

A study was conducted to examine the effects of thermal preconditionin g on the water-holding properties of chicken breast and leg meat. An i nitial experiment was performed by heat shocking (40 to 41 C for 1 h) and euthanatizing broilers at 3 to 6 wk of age. As seen commercially, heat caused higher drip loss, and the majority of this loss for breast (75 to 80%) and leg (90 to 100%) meat occurred within 3 d post-mortem . A second study with 6-wk-old broilers tested the following treatment s: control (25 C), heat shock (40 to 41 C for 1 h), preconditioned con trol (3 consecutive d of exposure to 35 C for 3 h followed by a 21-h r ecovery between each exposure), and preconditioned (same as preconditi oned control with an added heat shock on the final day). Thermal preco nditioning did not circumvent the water-holding problems associated wi th heat shock. Meat from chickens exposed to heat lost significant amo unts of drip during the crucial processing period-the first 6 h after death. In general, leg meat had lower drip loss and higher held water than breast, but cooked leg meat had lower held water, Treatment and m eat type were significant (P < .05) in determining drip and cook loss. Preconditioned and heat shock breast meat appeared pale, soft, and ex udative, similar to a condition found in pork, Thermal preconditioning does not prevent the loss in water-holding properties associated with heat.