Comparison of Thawing Treatments on Quality, Microbiota, and Organoleptic Characteristics of Chicken Meat Fillets.

ABSTRACT

The current research attempted to evaluate the impact of various thawing techniques (R0 control group, R1 water immersion thawing, R2 low-temperature thawing, R3 combined thawing, water thawing then low-temperature thawing, R4 combination thawing, low temperature thawing then water thawing, and R5 oven thawing) on the quality, microbiota, and organoleptic characteristics of chicken meat fillets. The findings showed that moisture content varied from 74.43 to 72.33%; thawing loss peaked in R1 at 4.66%, while it was minimum in R5 at 2.10%. Lipid content varied from 1.09% in R0 to 1.03% in R5, while protein content varied from 22.06% in R0 to 23.10% in R1. The values of shear force, protein, and lipid oxidation increased for all treatments compared to control, ranging from 7.94 N to 9.54 N, 0.99-1.21 nm/mg protein, and 0.74-1.15 mg MDA/Kg, respectively. On the other hand, pH (5.94 in R4) and protein solubility (238.63 mg/g in R1) were decreased in contrast to the control group (6.08 and 298.27 mg/g). In association with different methods, R5 and R2 showed minimal thawing loss and the highest lipid and protein oxidation rates. However, R3 showed reduced shear force and lipid oxidation comparatively. TPC was significantly (P < 0.05) increased in both R2 and R1. Sensory evaluation indicated that R3 and R2 showed better color and taste, while R1 showed minimum scores for organoleptic attributes. R0, R3, and R5 obtained a higher sensory score, whereas R1, R2, and R4 showed a lower score. However, R5 exhibited better results in close association with the control group (R0). Hence, it can be concluded that freezing and subsequent thawing decrease the quality of chicken fillets due to the time required for thawing. In the present study, the best quality of chicken fillets was retained by R3 and R5 due to their reduced thawing periods.