Effect of Honey Treatment on Some Quality Characteristics of Broiler Breast Meat

Abstract

Yücel, B., Önenç, A., Bayraktar, H., Açikgöz, Z. and Altan, Ö. 2005. Effect of honey treatment on some quality characteristics of broiler breast meat. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 28: 53–56.

Breast meats of 12 broilers (Ross-308) were used to determine the effect of marination with honey water mixture (0, 20, 30% v/v) on their meat quality and bacterial activity. Treated meats were preserved at 4C for 7 days in vacuume. Drip loss, pH level and marinate uptake did not change significantly in breast meats marinated with different levels of honey and without honey. Marination with honey did not significantly affect the L*(brightness) and a*(redness) values of breast meats on 1st and 7th days of treatment. However, b* (yellowness) values were significantly affected by honey treatment. After 7th day, no significant differences were obtained for tenderness, flavor and acceptability between treatment and the control groups. Breast meats marinated with honey showed a slight decrease in bacterial number compared to control group after 4th day. It is indicated that honey marination might be considered as a means of limiting bacterial growth in broiler meat without any adverse effect on meat quality and sensory characteristics.

Keywords:

• Broiler breast meat
• marination
• honey