Influence of electrical- and gas-stunned broilers on sensory characteristics and consumer acceptance during chilled...

Electrical stunning is the most common method of stunning in the poultry industry worldwide, but with a growing demand for prioritizing animal welfare, gas stunning can be an acceptable alternative. This study investigated the effect of electrical and gas stunning on the sensory characteristics and consumer acceptance of chicken breast meat in addition to the impact of packaging type during chilled storage on the flavor of chicken breasts (6 and 18 days for non-vacuum and vacuum packaged, respectively, at 4°C). On Day 0 postmortem, regular chicken consumers (n = 90) were asked to taste oven-baked (165°F, ∼40 min) electrical- and gas-stunned chicken breasts. On Day 3, regular chicken consumers (n = 93) evaluated electrical- and gas-stunned chicken breast meats in two types of packaging (non-vacuum and vacuum). The consumer panels evaluated overall and attribute liking (appearance, aroma, texture, and flavor) on a nine-point hedonic scale and rated intensities of chicken flavor, aftertaste, and juiciness (only Day 3) on a 15-cm line scale. Along with consumer panels, an electronic-nose (E-Nose) was also used to analyze volatile compounds of raw and cooked chicken samples. On Day 0, no significant differences were found between electrical- and gas-stunned chicken breasts, while on Day 3, the only observed significant difference was in juiciness intensity between non-vacuum-packaged chicken breasts but had no impact on acceptance. E-Nose analysis confirmed no differences in aroma between stunning methods. The results suggest that in terms of sensory evaluation, there is no difference in sensory characteristics between stunning methods. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study can help to provide better direction for the production process and quality of chicken products, as well as animal welfare, by determining how the stunning method and packaging type affect consumers' sensory and analyzing the E-nose for aroma profiles.