TABLE 5.
Chemical composition and meat quality traits of breast meat from broiler chickens (41 days-old) raised in either thermoneutral (TNT) or chronic heat stress (HS) conditions (n = 15/group) from 35 to 41 days of age.
| TNT | HS | SEM | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carcass weight (g) | 2,031 | 1,753 | 50.8 | ** |
| Breast yield (%) | 39.0 | 35.3 | 0.82 | * |
| Moisture (%) | 76.0 | 75.0 | 0.25 | * |
| Crude protein (%) | 22.4 | 23.7 | 0.29 | ** |
| Total lipid (%) | 1.38 | 1.55 | 0.11 | ns |
| Ash (%) | 1.40 | 1.49 | 0.06 | ns |
| Moisture:protein ratio | 3.17 | 3.01 | 0.04 | * |
| Lightness (L*) | 56.9 | 54.8 | 0.56 | 0.06 |
| Redness (a*) | 1.12 | 1.14 | 0.11 | ns |
| Yellowness (b*) | 6.05 | 5.94 | 0.21 | ns |
| pHu | 5.81 | 6.00 | 0.03 | ** |
| Drip loss (%) | 1.61 | 1.19 | 0.08 | * |
| Cooking loss (%) | 22.8 | 15.3 | 0.90 | *** |
| Shear force (kg/g) | 3.11 | 2.71 | 0.10 | * |
*= p < 0.05; ** = p <0.01; *** = p <0.001. ns = not significant.
SEM, standard error of the mean.