Carcass Characteristics, Proximate Composition, Fatty Acid Profile, and Oxidative Stability of Pectoralis major and Flexor cruris medialis Muscle of Broiler Chicken Subjected to with or without Level of Electrical Stunning, Slaughter, and Subsequent Bleeding

Are spiritual, ethical, and eating qualities of poultry meat influenced by current and frequency during electrical water bath stunning?

With the continuous rise of Muslim and Jewish populations and their increasing preference for ritually slaughtered poultry meat, the industry is forced to redefine its existing product-centric quality standard toward a new consumer-centric dimension of quality. The new dimension is mainly attributed to ensuring animal welfare and ethical treatment (ethical quality), spiritual quality (such as halal status, cleanliness), and eating quality standards set by religion. To meet consumer quality requirements while maintaining high production performance, the industry has incorporated newer technologies that are compatible with religious regulations such as stunning methods like electrical water bath stunning. However, the introduction of new techniques such as electrical water bath stunning has been met with mixed reactions. Some religious scholars have banned the use of any stunning methods in religious slaughter, as halal status is believed to be compromised in cases where birds have been stunned to death before slaughter. Nevertheless, some studies have shown the positive side of the electrical water bath stunning procedure in terms of preserving eating, ethical, and spiritual quality. Therefore, the present study aims to critically analyze the application of various aspects of electrical water bath stunning such as current intensity and frequency on various quality attributes, namely, ethical, spiritual, and eating quality of poultry meat.

Determining the Possibilities of Reducing Visible Quality Defects in Commercial Elements of Turkey Carcasses Using an Alternative Stunning Device

The development of the quality and commercial value of poultry meat is related to the formation of visible quality defects (hemorrhages) in muscles during the first stage of production (stunning). The production of meat with an unusual appearance for the consumers affects their purchasing decisions and, consequently, the company's economics. The aim of this research was to determine the possibility of reducing visible quality defects (large and small hemorrhages) in commercial turkey carcass elements (fillet, loin, wing) using an alternative device (AD) for the electrical stunning of animals in comparison to the quality effects obtained using the conventional device (CD) in plant X. The factors differentiating the experiment were the electrical current frequency (AD: 125, 400, 800, and 1600 Hz; CD: 50 Hz) and process time (9 and 18 s). The increase in electrical current frequency used in the alternative device stunner (own construction) resulted in changing the percentage share of defective turkey meat production. The greatest reduction of minor and severe meat defects and improvement of its quality were obtained for the alternative device at f = 800 Hz and t = 9 s-considered optimal for specific industrial conditions. Extending the time of stunning turkeys to 18 s had a positive effect on visible quality defects in the evaluated commercial elements of the carcass; however, its application in practice will depend on the efficiency of the slaughter line of the plant. A comparative analysis of the results of the impact of the frequency of electric current in the alternative device and plant X on the improvement of meat quality showed a justified need to commercialize the research results and replace the device currently used in the plant with an alternative one.

Physico-chemical, sensory, and microbiological quality of raw chicken meat: an exploratory study in the Hisar city of Haryana, India

A survey was conducted in Hisar, located in Haryana, India, to assess the quality of raw chicken meat. To ensure comprehensive coverage, healthy broiler chickens were obtained from various meat retail outlets in Hisar city, encompassing the majority of such establishments. Additionally, a sample of control chickens was obtained from the Livestock Farm, College of Veterinary Sciences, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (LUVAS), Hisar, Haryana, India. The raw chicken meat was grouped into two categories, breast cut and thigh cut. The breast muscles, which include pectoralis major and pectoralis minor, and the thigh muscles, which include the abductor muscles, were chosen as the samples for proximate analysis, which included physico-chemical, sensory, and microbiological analyses of raw chicken meat. The analysis of the raw meat in the laboratory revealed inconsistent variations between the control and retail samples in terms of parameters, such as proximate composition, pH, the water-holding capacity (WHC), thiobarbituric acid (TBA), instrumental color analysis, and sensory evaluation. The moisture content of the control breast sample was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the samples from shops 2, 3, and 5. However, it was statistically similar to that of the samples from shops 1, 4, and 6. The total plate and psychrotrophic counts of the control thigh sample were significantly lower than those of the samples from shops 3, 4, 5, and 6. Among the thigh pH values, the samples from shops 1, 2, 5, and 6 had significantly higher pH values than the control sample. The variations in the various parameters were multifactorial and established the superiority of birds slaughtered under laboratory conditions and grown in university farms compared to the raw chicken meat available in retail outlets in Hisar city.

The Effects of Preslaughter Electrical Stunning on Serum Cortisol and Meat Quality Parameters of a Slow-Growing Chinese Chicken Breed

Electrical stunning is widely utilized prior to a neck cut to induce unconsciousness in order to improve animal welfare and slaughter efficiency in the broiler production industry. However, slaughter without stunning is still very commonly used in China, in part because there is a belief that stunning reduces meat quality. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the physical (hemorrhages, pH, drip loss, and shear force) and chemical (inosinic monophosphate concentration and reducing sugar content) properties of broiler meat differed between chickens in preslaughter stunning and nonstunned slaughter groups, and whether the groups differed in their levels of cortisol as an indicator of stress. Serum cortisol levels of the nonstunned group were nearly twice as high as those in the stunned group (p < 0.05). Several meat quality indicators were better in the stunned group than in the nonstunned group. We concluded that electrical stunning prior to slaughter significantly decreases the stress caused by slaughter, resulting in both improved animal welfare and meat quality traits.

Vitamin E Supplementation Enhances Lipid Oxidative Stability via Increasing Vitamin E Retention, Rather Than Gene Expression of MAPK-Nrf2 Signaling Pathway in Muscles of Broilers

Dietary vitamin E (VE) supplementation is a method to produce VE-enriched meat and improve meat lipid oxidative stability. We aimed to study the effect of the VE supplementation duration on meat lipid oxidative stability, VE retention, and antioxidant enzymes’ activity, and explore its relationship with the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK)-nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway in broilers slaughtered after electrical stunning. A total of 240 male 18-day-old Arbor Acres Plus broilers were distributed to four treatments, with six replicates in each treatment, and ten broilers per replicate. Broilers were fed with a basal diet (no supplementation of VE) or VE diet (200 IU/kg VE, DL-α- tocopherol) for one (W1), two (W2), or three (W3) weeks before electrical stunning (130 mA, 60 Hz, for 1s) and slaughter. The VE retention was positively and linearly affected (p < 0.01) by the VE feeding duration at one to three weeks before slaughter, and negatively (all p < 0.01) related to the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) content in both breast and thigh muscles at d 0, d 2, and d 6 postmortem. The VE retention was negatively (p < 0.05) related to the gene expression of c-Jun N-terminal kinases 1 (JNK1) and 2 (JNK2), Nrf2 in breast muscles, and JNK1 and p38 MAPK in thigh muscles. In conclusion, dietary vitamin E supplementation at 200 IU/kg for three weeks before electrical stunning and slaughter improved lipid oxidative stability via increasing VE retention, rather than the regulation by gene expression of the MAPK-Nrf2 signaling pathway in skeletal muscles of broilers.