Measuring Quality Parameters in the Poultry and Egg Industry – Introduction

Over the past twenty years, poultry meat has soared in popularity, overtaking pork as the most produced meat worldwide. 

Egg laying hens and broiler chickens are the two main chicken types farmed globally – one produces eggs and the other is raised for meat. In terms of egg production, China produced the highest number of eggs in 2019 at 661 billion. For industries of this magnitude and importance, world leading research and development and quality control are paramount. 

POULTRY MEAT QUALITY MEASUREMENT

Texture is the main quality characteristic of all meat, affecting consumer acceptance and, consequently, price. The dominant textural characteristic determining the quality of meat is tenderness. Tenderness is also the major sensory characteristic that decides the consumer acceptance of a meat product, followed by the more ambiguous quality characteristic – ‘juiciness’. 

Due to the heavy influence of tenderness on both a meat product’s price and overall acceptance, one of the most common issues faced by meat and poultry industries is a recent increase in the incidence of tough meat. This may be an effect of higher consumer demand for heavily processed products, which puts greater pressure on production. To keep up with demand, processing manufacturers must explore methods to increase boneless meat production without a negative effect on overall consumer acceptance. Some of these processing methods are known to affect broiler breast tenderness. 

The high emphasis placed on tenderness, along with the increasing incidence of tough meat has led to the development of many sophisticated instrumental methods for measuring meat texture. Tenderness is a sensory attribute judged when a consumer bites into a piece of meat. Consequently, sensory analysis can be very effective. However, sensory evaluation is time consuming and expensive. 

Instrumental methods are well-suited to the assessment of meat texture. 

There are many methods in use for measuring tenderness in both industrial and research environments that use the Stable Micro Systems range of Texture Analysers. These methods generally come under the bracket of a ‘cutting measurement’, such as the multiple blade Kramer shear cell, the Warner-Bratzler single blade and the MORS blade although a Texture Analyser is capable of the measurement of compression, tension, flexure, adhesion and extrusion characteristics, to name but a few. 

Although tenderness is the primary textural concern for raw and cooked meat, there are other common textural measurements used by poultry manufacturers when finished products are concerned, such as the crispiness of battered nuggets. Additionally, non-meat tests are equally important when related to the health of the bird. These tests may include the tensile strength of intestines, bone flexure strength or the properties of chicken feed. 

TA.XTExpressC Texture Analyser and Egg Quality System; Volscan Profiler

EGG QUALITY MEASUREMENT 

The economy of the egg industry relies on the perceived quality of eggs and the minimisation of wastage. Consequently, physical testing is a common practice by egg manufacturers to target factors that might lower quality or increase wastage. The Texture Analyser and Volscan Profiler (for volume, density and dimensional profile analysis) are both well-suited to egg measurement.

Read the next instalment Measuring Quality Parameters in the Poultry & Egg Industry – Uncooked Poultry Methods on the blog next week. 

There is a Texture Analysis test for virtually any physical property. Contact Stable Micro Systems today to learn more about our full range of solutions.

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For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.

The TA.XTplusC texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.

No-one understands texture analysis like we do!

Get in touch to discuss your specific test requirements