Physico-chemical changes and microbiological quality of refrigerated broiler chicken meat slaughtered by two different methods

Slaughtering is the first step in meat processing. It involves killing an animal for the production of meat. Effectiveness of slaughter is determined by the amount of blood removed from the animal. This study aimed to compare the chemical changes and microbiological quality of broiler chicken meat slaughtered by Halal and Non-Halal slaughter methods during refrigerated storage. A total of sixty (60) broiler chickens were slaughtered by: i) Neck cutting (NC) - by severing the jugular veins, carotid arteries, trachea and the oesophagus according to the Islamic ritual method of slaughter and (ii) Neck poking (NP) - by poking the neck of the bird with a sharp object. Residual blood was quantified by measuring the haem iron content in the breast meat samples. Storage stability of chicken meat was evaluated by measuring the extent of lipid oxidation determined by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and by assessing the microbiological quality of the meat. Haem iron content decreased significantly (P<0.05) during 9-day storage at 4°C. Haem iron content ranged between 1.31-2.55 mg/100g sample and 2.05-3.25 mg/100g sample in neck cut and neck poked chickens respectively. Slaughter method had no significant effect (P>0.05) on chicken meat lipid oxidation at 1, 3, and 9 day of storage at 4°C. However, at 5 and 7 day of storage, significant differences (P<0.05) were observed, with neck poked meat samples recording significantly higher levels of malondaldehyde (MDA) than that from neck cut samples. A significantly (P<0.05) higher total viable count (TVC) and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) count were observed in neck poked samples as compared to the neck cut samples throughout the storage time. The total viable count and LAB counts reached the highest value of 6.28 log10 CFU/g and 3.93 log10 CFU/g respectively after 9 d of refrigerated storage in neck poked meat samples as compared to 5.26 log10 CFU/g and 3.76 log10 CFU/g recorded in neck cut meat samples after 9 d of refrigerated storage respectively. This study showed that slaughter method had a positive effect on chemical changes and microbial quality of chicken meat during refrigerated storage.