A COMPARISON OF HIGH-CURRENT AND LOW-VOLTAGE ELECTRICAL STUNNING SYSTEMS ON BROILER BREAST RIGOR DEVELOPMENT AND MEAT QUALITY

Experiments were conducted to compare the effects of a high current (H C) stunning system to a low voltage (LV) stunning system on broiler ca rcass and meat quality. A total of 360 broiler chickens were individua lly stunned using either 125 mA, 50 Hz, constant AC for 5 s (HC) or us ing 10.5 V, 500 Hz pulsed DC for 10 s (LV). Birds were individually we ighed, killed by conventional neck cut, bled for 150 s, and reweighed to determine blood loss. Breast fillets (Pectoralis major) were remove d from the carcass immediately after picking (0 h) or after aging for 24 h in a static ice-water slush. Breast muscle pH was determined at b oth 0 and 24 h. Raw breast meat color (CIELAB) and cooked breast meat Allo-Kramer shear values were determined on samples held at 2 C for 48 h. The LV stunning treatment significantly increased (P < 0.05) blood loss (4.0 vs 3.7%) and significantly reduced initial muscle pH (6.47 vs 6.67) when compared to the HC stunning treatment. There were no sig nificant differences between the stunning systems for 24 h pH, raw bre ast color, and Allo-Kramer shear. High current stunning reduced initia l:blood loss and delayed early rigor development compared to the LV tr eatment, but appeared to have little effect on final meat quality.