Sensory profile of breast meat from broilers reared in an organic niche production system and conventional standard broilers

Summary

BACKGROUND: A sensory panel evaluated the sensory profile of breast meat from five broiler products: two conventional standard products (A and B) and three organic niche genotypes (I657, L40, K8) reared in an apple orchard.
RESULTS: Twenty-two sensory attributes were evaluated, and 13 differed significantly between the products. The aromas ‘chicken’, ‘bouillon’ and ‘fat’ scored highest and the ‘iron/liver’ aroma lowest for the niche products. The meat was more ‘tender’, ‘short’ and ‘crumbly’, and less ‘hard’ and ‘stringy’ in the standard products than in one or more of the niche products. Product ‘I657’ was less ‘juicy’ than the rest. ‘I657’ and ‘L40’ were more ‘cohesive’ and tasted more ‘sourish’ and less of ‘sweet/maize’ than the standard products. The ‘overall liking’ score was significantly higher for the ‘K8’ product than for ‘Standard A’ and ‘L40’ products. ‘Overall liking’ was significantly correlated to aroma and taste of ‘chicken’, ‘umami/bouillon’, ‘iron/liver’, and the ‘fat’ aroma.
CONCLUSION: The sensory profiles differed particularly between conventional standard broilers and organic niche broilers, although differences were also found between breeds. The present study indicates that aroma and taste attributes were more important for the assessors than meat ‘tenderness’ for the overall liking of broiler meat.