A new sample collection method for the assessment of the percentage of water absorbed in frozen and quick-frozen poultry cuts (chicken breasts with skin)

Abstract

The determination of the mean physiological water/protein ratio of samples obtained from homogenized poultry cuts using a powerful mincer is an efficient way of determining their total water content. However, this standard method demands expensive equipment and takes unnecessary time. The proposed new system to obtain samples uses a drill and a metal funnel to perform the collection, and it has the same accuracy, a faster performance and a less costly process. Comparing the traditional method to the method proposed in this current work to calculate the average water and protein content and water/protein ratio measured in 22 samples of breast meat cuts, the results analysis has shown that all of the tests performed on the 22 samples gave very similar data (paired t-test p > 0.05). Therefore, these positive outcomes indicate the high potential of using this new sample collection method to determine the total water content of poultry cuts (chicken breasts with skin).