MLBA15: June / July 2010
Chicken meat quality: genetic variability and relationship with growth and muscle characteristics
As in other animal species, the technological quality of poultry meat is now of major importance, since poultry meat is nowadays usually consumed as cuts or as processed products rather than as whole carcasses. As already reported for pigs, technological quality refers to several meat properties, including water-holding capacity (i.e. drip loss during storage), intensity and homogeneity of colour, firmness, shelf-life and processing yields. Meat quality is closely related to the decrease in muscle pH post-mortem.
Rapid postmortem decline in pH results in PSE (pale, soft, exudative) meat with a pale aspect and reduced water-holding capacity. Variations in the extent of decrease in pH are also responsible for variations in meat quality. Low ultimate pH results in "acid meat", with similar defects to those of PSE meat, while high ultimate pH leads to DFD (dark, firm, dry) meat with dark colour and poor storage quality. In pigs, the PSE meat and "acid meat" defects have been shown to be controlled by major genes, i.e. halothane sensitivity and RN genes, respectively.
The inclusion of meat quality in pig breeding schemes dates back to the 1970 - 1980s. Varying emphasis has been given to traits of interest according to country such as meat colour (certainly the most widely used quality indicator), pH and intramuscular fat content.
Rapid postmortem decline in pH results in PSE (pale, soft, exudative) meat with a pale aspect and reduced water-holding capacity. Variations in the extent of decrease in pH are also responsible for variations in meat quality. Low ultimate pH results in "acid meat", with similar defects to those of PSE meat, while high ultimate pH leads to DFD (dark, firm, dry) meat with dark colour and poor storage quality. In pigs, the PSE meat and "acid meat" defects have been shown to be controlled by major genes, i.e. halothane sensitivity and RN genes, respectively.
The inclusion of meat quality in pig breeding schemes dates back to the 1970 - 1980s. Varying emphasis has been given to traits of interest according to country such as meat colour (certainly the most widely used quality indicator), pH and intramuscular fat content.
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