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Pre-slaughter handling and slaughtering factors influencing poultry product quality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2010

M. PETRACCI ,
M. BIANCHI  and
C. CAVANI
M. PETRACCI*
Affiliation:
Department of Food Science, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, P.zza Goidanich 60, 47023 Cesena (FC), Italy
M. BIANCHI
Affiliation:
Department of Food Science, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, P.zza Goidanich 60, 47023 Cesena (FC), Italy
C. CAVANI
Affiliation:
Department of Food Science, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, P.zza Goidanich 60, 47023 Cesena (FC), Italy
*
Corresponding author: [email protected]
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Abstract

Over the past 15 years, the European processing industry has gradually increased the availability of poultry meat in a large variety of processed ready-meals, which follows recent trends in North America. The shift towards further processed products has underscored the necessity for higher quality standards in poultry meat in order to improve sensory characteristics and functional properties. Poultry meat quality is a complex and multivariate property, which is affected by multiple interacting factors including genetics, feeding, husbandry, pre-slaughter handling, stunning and slaughter procedures, chilling, processing and storage conditions. However it is likely that the effects exerted by ante-mortem handling (feed withdrawal, catching, crating, transport and lairage) and slaughter (hanging, stunning, killing, scalding, plucking, evisceration, chilling and processing) conditions on final product quality may be greater than those attributable to variation in husbandry practises. Many problems may occur at these stages that potentially increase the rate of mortality, carcass downgrading and meat quality. This paper is aimed at making a general statement of recent studies on the effects exerted by pre-slaughter handling and slaughtering on product quality.

Keywords

poultrypre-slaughter handlingslaughter proceduresproduct quality
Type
Review Article
Information
World's Poultry Science Journal , Volume 66 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 17 - 26
Copyright
World's Poultry Science Association2010

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