EFFECT OF SELECTED CHEMICAL ADDITIVES AND APPLICATION LEVELS ON QUALITY AND SAFETY OF CHICKEN BREAST MEAT

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of selected chemical additives and their
application levels on chemical quality and sensory properties of chicken breast meat. A factorial
experiment involving four widely used chemical additives (Monosodium glutamate, Sodium
nitrate, Monosodium phosphate and Sodium chloride) and three application levels (1, 2 and 3%
w/w) was laid in in a completely randomized design (CRD). A total of 15 average weight broiler
chickens were slaughtered and cut into primal cuts. Chicken breast meat was collected and each
fresh breast was divided into 10 average sized pieces making a total of 150 pieces. The pieces
were randomly divided into 12 groups, containing 12 pieces representing the treatments for the
study. Each group was administered its treatment specification and grilled using charcoal grille
until the meat is cooked. The proximate and sensory data were collected and analyzed using the
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in the Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) Version
17.0 at 5% using Tukey test. All proximate composition of chicken breast meat cured with
different chemical additives at different inclusion levels have been significantly affected, with
sodium chloride treated samples at 3% having higher protein content (68.08%), higher Nitrogen
(10.89%) and lower moisture content (24.5%). Sensory result showed that Sodium Chloride
treated samples performed better in tenderness (4.6) and acceptability (4.1) on a five point
hedonic scale. The study concluded that Sodium chloride at up to 3% w/w should be used in the
grilled beef industries since it ensures good proximate composition and acceptability of the
product.