Bone and meat discolouration of broiler chicken thighs

Abstract

Consumer acceptance of meat depends on its colour and there is a negative bias in North America for broiler dark meat. Freezing and cooking leads to changes in meat characteristics and colour of broiler chicken thighs. The first experiment focused on the effect of freezing and cooking on broiler thighs and comparisons with fresh uncooked thighs. Freezing and cooking resulted in pigment leakage from bones and meat heme pigment oxidation and denaturation. The meat colour was not dark under the applied conditions. The second experiment dealt with the effect of diet (vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, dilute) fed to broilers (Male Ross 308) on the meat characteristics and colour differences in broiler thighs. The study revealed that bones from birds fed 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 diet may have a better bone mineralization indicated by certain meat parameters. However the color of meat was not affected by the dietary treatments.