ARS | Publication request: A survey of the quality of six retail brands of boneless skinless chicken breast fillets obtained from retail supermarkets in the northeast georgia area

Submitted to: International Poultry Forum Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: December 1, 2006
Publication Date: January 22, 2007
Citation: Zhuang, H., Savage, E.M., Kays, S.E., Himmelsbach, D.S. 2007. A survey of the quality of six retail brands of boneless skinless chicken breast fillets obtained from retail supermarkets in the northeast georgia area. International Poultry Forum Proceedings.

Technical Abstract: To assess the variation in quality of chicken breast fillets available from retail supermarkets, six brands of boneless skinless fillets without additives were obtained from the fresh counter at grocery stores Athens, GA and the surrounding area during fall of 2005. The samples were stored at -20oC before being cooked using a Henny Penny MCS-6 combi oven. Quality parameters of the fillets were measured on the cooked chicken breast fillets including cook yield, descriptive sensory flavor and texture profiling, and Warner-Bratzler (WB) shear force. Our results show that the average cook yield ranged from 78.1% to 80.9%, the average intensity of descriptive sensory characteristics was less than 5.4 in a 0-15 universal scale, and WB shear force values were less than 5.2 kg. There were no significant differences in the intensity among brands of all flavor attributes and the texture characteristics associated with moisture. However, significant differences were found among the brands for cook yield, mechanical properties of texture (including springiness, cohesiveness, hardness and chewiness) and WB shear force values. The variation of WB shear force measurements (coefficient of variation) depended on brand. These results indicate that differences exist in the quality and texture consistency among brands of boneless skinless chicken breast fillets available in Athens, Georgia and the surrounding area.