Chemical composition of poultry meat: A comparison between broilers, soup hens, turkeys, ducks and geese

For the determination of chemical composition poultry meat and compare values, different poultry species were included. The content of water, ash and protein in breast and thigh meat of broilers can be considered as being constant (n = 3.90). The values for breast meat were 75% for water content, 1.2% for ash content and 24% for protein content, the values for thigh meat were 75% for water content, 1.1% ash content and 20% protein content. The fat content was on average at 0.6% for breast meat and 3.9% for thigh meat. Breast meat of soup hens showed a higher fat content (1.35 +/- 0.55%; n = 720). With respect to the chemical composition of the fillet and upper thigh, turkey meat showed measurements similar to those of broiler meat. Younger female turkey showed lower fat values of fillets than older ones (16 and 18 weeks, resp.; 0.72 +/- 0.49% to 1.06 +/- 0.51%; n = 190). Male turkey (22 weeks) reached a fat content of the fillet of 2.12 +/- 0.72 %. In upper thigh meat, these values were 3.14 +/- 0.70% (after 16 weeks) and 3.63 +/- 0.77% (after 18 weeks). Comparing water poultry (ducks, geese) to broilers and turkey, percentages of the chemical composition of breast and upper thigh meat changed (n = 140). With advanced age, water content of the breast and upper thigh meat of ducks and geese of different origins decreased (breast meat: Pekin 76.7%, Muscovy duck 74.1%, mallard 71.9%, goose 70.8%; upper high meat: Pekin 74.9%, Muscovy duck 75.1%, mallard 70.8%, goose 71.9%). At the same time the protein content increased (breast meat: 20.4%, 21.6%, 23.8%, 23.2%; upper thigh meat: 19.6%, 21%, 21.1%, 21.4%). The fat content of Pekin breast meat was 2.20% (Muscovy duck: 2.12%; mallard 2.92%; geese 4.69%). The same tendency was found out for upper thigh meat. Saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids were found to a sufficient extent in all of the species. Based on relatively high amount of samples (n = 4,440), these findings show that poultry meat makes a considerable contribution to human nutrition, being less expensive compared to beef and pork.