LAUSR

BACKGROUND Considering i) the increased incidence of wooden breast (WB) myopathy in broilers, ii) the poor meat quality in such breasts and iii) the lack of studies on the industrial use of WB breasts; the objective of this study was to investigate the quality of chicken sausages made with WB under frozen conditions. Three formulations of chicken sausage (100% N breast, 100% WB breast, and 50% N breast + 50% WB breast) were considered and raw and cooked (70°C/10 min) sausages were frozen for 180 days and evaluated for their quality and oxidative stability. RESULTS WB formulations exhibited higher pH, moisture (%), and shear force (SF), associated with lower water holding capacity (WHC) and fat (%). During the freezing period, there was a decrease in WHC and redness (a*) and an increase in cooking loss (CL) and SF for all formulations. Additionally, during freezing, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances values were higher in raw sausages made with N breast than in sausage made with WB breast probably due to the higher fat content in the former. Results showed that the products did not reach noticeable rancid levels (<2 mg malonaldehyde/kg) and that WB sausage presented great resistance to oxidation, which suggests that WB sausage can be kept frozen at -20 °C for up to 198 days. CONCLUSION Using WB breasts for the manufacture of chicken sausages subjected to freezing is a viable option given their overall quality and resistance to oxidation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.