Physicochemical and sensory properties of chicken nuggets with washed mechanically deboned chicken meat: Research note

Compositional Differences Among Types of Mechanically Separated Chicken and Their Influence on Physicochemical Attributes of Frankfurter-Type Sausages

Mechanically separated chicken (MSC) from 2 different separation methods (MSC1, Beehive separator, aged bones [Provisur Technologies, Mokena, IL]; MSC2, Poss separator, fresh bones [Poss Design Limited, Oakville, Ontario, Canada]) and chicken breast trim (CBT) were used as raw materials in frankfurters. Texture, color, and lipid oxidation were measured over a refrigerated storage period of 98 d. Both MSC were higher in fat and lower in moisture than CBT. MSC frankfurters had lower L* and higher a* values than CBT frankfurters, with MSC2 frankfurters having the lowest L* and highest a* (P < 0.05). Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances values were higher in MSC1 frankfurters (P < 0.05) than in CBT and MSC2 frankfurters. Texture Profile Analysis hardness, cohesiveness, resilience, and chewiness were highest in MSC2 frankfurters. Differences among MSC resulted in detectable differences in finished product attributes, with MSC2 frankfurters being darker and redder and having lower levels of lipid oxidation than MSC1 frankfurters, underscoring the importance of understanding the specific functional attributes of MSC obtained by different processes prior to product formulation and manufacturing.

Enhancing the quality and lipid stability of chicken nuggets using natural antioxidants

BACKGROUND

Current day consumers prefer natural antioxidants to synthetic antioxidants because they are more active. However, the activity generally depends on the specific condition and composition of food. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of wheat germ oil and α-lipoic acid on the quality characteristics, antioxidant status, fatty acid profile, and sensory attributes of chicken nuggets.

METHODS

Six types of diets were prepared for feeding the chickens to evaluate the quality of nuggets made from the leg meat of these experimental animals. These included control, diet enriched with wheat germ oil (WGO), which is a rich natural source of α-tocopherol (AT), diet with added AT or α-lipoic acid (ALA), diet with a combination of either ALA and WGO (ALA + WGO) or ALA and synthetic AT (ALA + AT). ALA has great synergism with synthetic as well as natural AT (WGO).

RESULTS

The diet with WGO and ALA showed the best potential with respect to both antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. HPLC results revealed that the chicken nuggets made from WGO + ALA group showed maximum deposition of AT and ALA. The stability of the nuggets from control group was found to be significantly lower than that of nuggets from the WGO + ALA group. Total fatty acid content too was higher in the nuggets from this group. The poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were found to be higher in the nuggets from the groups fed with a combination of natural and synthetic antioxidants.

CONCLUSION

It is concluded that the combination of natural and synthetic antioxidants in the animal feed exerts a synergistic effect in enhancing the stability and quality of chicken nuggets.

Influence of Adding Recovered Protein from Processing Wastewater on the Quality of Mechanically Separated Chicken Meat Surimi Like-Material

Functional and nutritional soluble proteins can be recovered from surimi (and surimi-like material) processing wastewater, reducing environmental problems and the cost of an irresponsible waste disposal. Recovered proteins may be added back at a low percentage to surimi products. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the addition of soluble recovered proteins (RP), obtained from mechanically separated chicken meat surimi-like material (MSCM-SLM) processing wastewater by acidic pH-shifting, on the composition and texture of RP-MSCM-SLM, with RP contents of 0, 10, 20 and 30% (w/w) in the mixture. For that, proximate composition and gel properties were evaluated. The fat content of the MSCM-SLM was significantly reduced to 11.98% and protein increased to 83.64% (dry basis) after three washing cycles. The addition of 30% RP in the MSCM-SLM significantly augmented the protein content to 93.45% and reduced fat content from to 2.78%. On the other hand, the addition of RP was responsible for a drastic decrease in texture parameters, reaching 252.36 g, 185.23 g.cm, and 6.97 N for breaking force, gel strength and cutting strength, respectively, when 30% of RP was included in the MSCM-SLM. It was concluded that the obtained intermediary product (RP-MSCM-SLM) is a good option to applications in processed meat products where high texture parameters are dispensable, e.g., emulsified inlaid frankfurter-type sausages, but high protein content and low fat content desired.

Evaluation of the joint effect of the incorporation of mechanically deboned meat and grape extract on the formulation of chicken nuggets

The proximate composition, instrumental and perceived appearance of chicken nuggets formulated with varying contents of mechanically deboned chicken meat and varying concentrations of grape pomace extract were evaluated, with the choice of formulations following a central composite design. Significant differences (P < 0.05) in fat content were mainly associated to the extent of mechanically deboned chicken meat incorporation. Colour variables ( CIE a* and b*, and Whiteness index) varied significantly (P < 0.05), with redness (a*) being the variable most influenced by the incorporation of mechanically deboned chicken meat. Whiteness index decreased with added mechanically deboned chicken meat and grape pomace extract. Response surface was applied to identify formulations with higher acceptance scores. Correspondence analysis of open-ended comments complemented the information obtained from overall acceptance, adding valuable descriptive attributes of nugget samples. Thus, addition of grape pomace extract up to 120 mg/kg and mechanically deboned chicken meat up to 15 g/100 g did not adversely affect the perceived appearance of chicken nuggets. Mechanically deboned chicken meat and grape pomace extract can be successfully used for the elaboration of novel products, for different market segments, with healthy connotations highlighted by antioxidant properties retained by the grape pomace extract.

Quality attributes and consumer acceptance of new ready-to-eat frozen restructured chicken

The aim of the present study was to develop a new restructured product, cooked and frozen ready-to-eat product that was prepared with boneless chicken meat (breast and drumstick) and mechanically separated chicken meat (MSCM). Non-meat ingredients, such as transglutaminase (TG) and egg albumin powder, were tested to obtain a better strength of adhesion between the meat particles. Five formulations for restructured chicken were developed as follows: T1 (1 % transglutaminase), T2 (1 % transglutaminase and 15 % MSCM), T3 (1 % egg albumin powder), T4 (1 % egg albumin powder and 15 % MSCM) and T5 (1 % transglutaminase, 1 % egg albumin powder and 15 % MSCM). The results of the experiment showed a greater luminosity (L*) in the treatments with TG (T1) and albumin (T3). The treatments without MSCM (T1 and T3) presented significantly lower mean values for redness (a*) when compared to treatments with MSCM (T2, T4 and T5) (p ≤ 0.05). No significant differences were noted between the treatments (p ≥ 0.05) when analyzing the percentage of total saturated fatty acids (SFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and cholesterol content. Consumer testing showed a high acceptance of the restructured products in all evaluated attributes. Similarly, with regard to the purchase intention, consumers mostly expressed that they would probably or certainly buy the products, for treatments T1, T2, T3 and T5. Moreover, the meat cuts with no commercial value, can transform into new ready-to-eat products that have a high probability of success in the market.

Optimization of parameters for obtaining surimi-like material from mechanically separated chicken meat using response surface methodology

Surimi is a semi-processed washed fish mince protein concentrate mixed with cryoprotectants for frozen storage, which is the primary constituent of processed foods. Mechanically separated chicken meat (MSCM) is a common ingredient of comminuted sausages mainly due to its low price. The present work aimed to define the adequate parameters to obtain surimi-like material from MSCM using response surface methodology, and to characterize the chemical and textural properties of this product. The MSCM was utilized in the elaboration of surimi-like material using the bleaching method with sodium bicarbonate and sodium chloride solutions. For this purpose, the effect of process parameters viz: temperature (T = 2, 7, and 12 °C), time (t = 5, 10, and 15 min/cycles) and washing solution:MSCM ratio (R = 2:1, 4:1, and 6:1 w/w) were evaluated using response surface methodology. The highest composite design averages obtained were 10.7 % for protein content, 1,003.4 g for breaking force, 645.8 g.cm for gel strength, 9.0 N for cutting strength, and 24.1 N.s for work of shearing at the optimum combination of processing conditions of 7 °C, 10 min and 4:1 washing solution:MSCM ratio, corresponding to the central points of the proposed experimental design. The obtained models had high determination coefficients, explaining 95.85, 98.23, 98.41, and 96.08 % of total variability in protein content, cutting strength, breaking force, and work of shearing variabilities, respectively. According to the folding test the surimi-like material presented the same characteristics of a high quality surimi (FT = 5).

Effects of Mechanically Deboned Chicken Meat (MDCM) and Collagen on the Quality Characteristics of Semi-dried Chicken Jerky

This study was conducted to determine the effects of using mechanically deboned chicken meat (MDCM) and collagen on quality characteristics of semi-dried chicken jerky. In experiment I, semi-dried chicken jerky was prepared with the replacement of chicken breast with MDCM (0, 10, 20, and 30%). The pH value of the jerky formulated with only chicken breast was 5.94, while the replacement of chicken breast with MDCM significantly increased the pH (p<0.05). The protein content and shear force of the jerkies decreased with increasing amounts of MDCM, whereas the fat, ash content and processing yield showed the opposite tendency (p<0.05). Replacement with up to 10% MDCM had no adverse effects on the sensory characteristics of the semi-dried chicken jerky. In experiment II, four levels of pork collagen (0, 1, 2, and 3%) were added to the semi-dried chicken jerky formulated with 90% chicken breast and 10% MDCM. The addition of collagen increased the moisture content, but decreased the ash content of the jerkies produced (p<0.05). The processing yield of the jerkies increased with increasing added amounts of collagen (p<0.05). It was found that the jerkies formulated with 0-2% collagen had significantly higher overall acceptance score than those prepared with 3% collagen (p<0.05). In conclusion, MDCM and collagen could be useful ingredients to reduce the production cost and improve the processing yield of semi-dried chicken jerky. The optimal levels of MDCM and collagen which could be added without adverse effects on the sensory characteristics were up to 10% and 2%, respectively.