Effect of nutrition on carcass quality poultry

Poultry World reports that dietary protein content does not only affect weight gain and feed efficiency of chicks, but has also a marked effect on the quality of their carcasses (yield of edible meat, and carcass fat content).

A diet with lower than recommended protein reduces the yield of meat and increases the fat content of the carcass and saturation of the carcass fat. The energy source used in the diet is also a factor for determining meat quality. The inclusion of sorghum in place of corn decreases meat pH and also promotes paler meat.

Also the influence of vitamin E supplementation on meat quality has been tested in numerous trials. In one particular trial, the effect of vitamin E on the sensorial quality of frozen chicken meat was studied. It was shown that vitamin E supplementation had a beneficial effect on sensorial data, and on oxidative stability of the meat, and that the concentration of aldehydes, which are considered responsible for rancid off-flavours, was much more important in the control samples as compared to the supplemented samples.

Besides nutrition, also management practices are important to ensure good carcass quality of the birds. Read the full article on Poultry World.