Omega-3-enriched broiler meat: 2. Functional properties, oxidative stability, and consumer acceptance

Abstract

Consumers are becoming more aware of the impact on their health of the food they eat. One of the ways they hope to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease is by consuming more foods enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particularly n-3 fatty acids. Flaxseed is a good source for increasing the n-3 PUFA in poultry meat because of the high content of alpha-linolenic acid. A study was conducted to identify an optimal process to enrich of broiler diets with n-3 PUFA by using 2 levels of flaxseed fed for various times before processing. The acceptability of broiler meat functional properties was tested to ensure that further processing efficiencies would not be compromised by the enrichment strategy. This experiment was conducted as a 2 x 8 factorial, with 2 dietary levels of ground flaxseed (10 and 17%) fed for 8 lengths of time before processing [0 (control), 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 35 d]. Of 650 Ross x Ross 308 mixed-sex broilers reared in this study, 128 were used to evaluate breast and thigh meat functional properties, oxidative stability, and sensory analysis. No statistical interactions were found between treatments for chicken breast meat quality traits. The duration of feeding flaxseed strongly affected meat quality parameters. In particular, feeding flaxseed for 16 d resulted in a final pH of 5.65, compared with 5.93 in the control. The lower ultimate pH found in animals fed flaxseed affected meat cooking loss, drip loss, and shear value (P < 0.0001). Shear value significantly increased after 16 d of feeding flaxseed (P < 0.0001). Susceptibility to oxidation increased in both breast and thigh broiler meat with the duration of feeding flaxseed. Enriching the diet for less than 16 d did not result in perceivable sensory defects. Duration of flaxseed feeding significantly affected the color characteristics, functional properties, and oxidative stability of broiler meat.

Effects of organic selenium in broiler feed on the content of selenium and fatty acid profile in lipids of thigh muscle tissue

“…That fact can be explained with the higher concentration of selenium in feed which affected activities of ∆ 6 -, ∆ 5 -and ∆ 4 -desaturase and elongase that catalyze elongation and desaturation of short-chain fatty acids into long-chain fatty acids, or that intake causes deceleration in degradation of long-chain fatty acids in oxidation processes. Betti et al (2009) observed that more α-LNA was accumulated in lipids of thigh muscle tissues than of breast muscle tissue, and it is known that unsaturated fatty acids, among them also α-LNA, are more susceptible to oxidation and creation of peroxides and aldehydes. These compounds, formed during lipid oxidation, are responsible for reducing the quality of PUFA enriched animal products during storage time (Leskanich and Noble 1997).…”

Effect of adding prefermented cereal product containing gamma-linolenic acid to broiler feed on production indicators and fatty acid profile of chicken breast

“…The significantly lower oxidative stability of the meat from broilers fed the prefermented cereal product compared to broilers fed the control diet was probably due to a higher content of PUFA in lipids of meat tissues. Many studies linked oxidative instability in meat and meat products with increasing concentrations of PUFA (Guillevic et al 2009;Betti et al 2009). Unsaturated lipids readily undergo oxidation to produce peroxides and aldehydes, which are responsible for the reduction in storage quality that is often associated with poultry meat with an enhanced PUFA content (Betti et al 2009).…”

“…Many studies linked oxidative instability in meat and meat products with increasing concentrations of PUFA (Guillevic et al 2009;Betti et al 2009). Unsaturated lipids readily undergo oxidation to produce peroxides and aldehydes, which are responsible for the reduction in storage quality that is often associated with poultry meat with an enhanced PUFA content (Betti et al 2009). Although TBARS values in the experimental group were significantly higher compared to control even on day 7 of storage under chilling conditions, in the experimental group such values were not observed (0.380 mg·kg -1 ), which would have a significant impact on the quality of the meat.…”

A note on the effect of pre-slaughter transport duration on nutrient composition and fatty acid profile of broiler breast meat

“…Thus, protection against oxidation may be necessary by increments in the transport duration. It was also reported that n-3 PUFA accumulation and higher levels of arachidonic acid (C20:4 n-6) is related to PSE syndrome occurrence (Soares et al, 2003;Betti et al, 2009). Because lighter broilers had significantly higher arachidonic acid (C20:4 n-6), n-3 fatty acids and total PUFA content, we may conclude that slaughter weight and age may contribute to the occurrence of PSE syndrome.…”