Effect of Chilling Period on the Physico-chemical and Organoleptic Characteristics of Broiler Chicken Meat

One of the major concerns during storage, distribution and retail display of meat and meat products is the minimum temperature for the growth of a microorganism. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of chilling period on oganoleptic and physico-chemical characteristics of broiler chicken meat. A total number of 24 chickens with average weights of between 1.5-2 kg were used for the study. The birds were slaughtered and randomly assigned into four treatments which were replicated thrice with two chickens per replicate. Treatment 1 represented chilling immediately after slaughter (control), treatment 2 represented delay for 2 hours before chilling, treatment 3were delayed for 4 hours before chilling, and treatment 4 were delayed for 6 hours before chilling. Data obtained were analyzed using analysis of variance. Treatment group chilled at 0hr had significantly higher (P<0.05) crude protein composition of 48.59% compared to the other treatment groups(2 hrs, 4 hrs, and 6 hrs chilling interval) which had 45.94, 44.33 and 44.98% respectively. There were significant differences (p<0.05) in texture, flavor, aroma, general acceptability, pH, cooking loss and cooking yield across the treatments. The 0-hour chilled group was significantly (p<0.05) higher in terms of flavor, aroma and general acceptability and had significant (P<0.05) least cooking loss. It was therefore concluded that chicken meat should be chilled immediately after slaughter to prevent loss of value during cooking.