Effect of electrical stimulation in combination with calcium chloride or sodium chloride treatments at constant ionic strength on moisture binding and textural quality of early-harvested breast fillets

USDA, ARS, Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center, Athens, Georgia 30604-5677, USA.

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of a CaCl2 or NaCl treatment combined with electrical stimulation (ES) on textural and moisture binding of early-harvested chicken breast fillets. During exsanguination, half the birds were subjected to ES, and then all carcasses were aged for 30, 60, 90, or 120 min before excising both Pectoralis major muscles. Half the muscles were chilled with a NaCl solution and half with a CaCl2 solution. Effects of ES and chill medium composition on meat pH, moisture absorption, cooking loss, and shear value of the fillets were assessed. The ES reduced meat pH for the NaCl-treated muscles, but had no effect on those treated with CaCl2 of on moisture absorbed during chilling. Cooking loss was greater for the CaCl2-treated than NaCl-treated muscles and for muscles from stimulated birds that were excised more than 30 min post-mortem. Shear values were unaffected by chilling medium composition. However, even though shear values for both ES and unstimulated birds declined as aging time increased, the rate of decline was greater, and ultimate shear value lower, for muscles from ES birds. Results indicate that, although ES might offer some advantage in improving the tenderness of early-harvested breast fillets, combining ES with CaCl2 treatment offers no real advantage. Moreover, reductions in moisture binding properties by these technologies might limit applicability in some commercial environments.