Comparison of Air and Immersion Chilling on Meat Quality and Shelf Life of Marinated Broiler Breast Fillets

Marinated broiler breast fillets were evaluated using both air- and immersion-chilling treatments. Ninety fillets from air-chilled broiler carcasses and 90 fillets from immersion-chilled broiler carcasses were obtained from a processor to determine differences in meat quality, sensory, and shelf life. At 24 h postmortem, the fillets were vacuum-tumbled (25 in Hg, 30 min, 14 rpm, 4 degrees C) in 2 replications per treatment with a 20% solution (wt/wt) yielding 0.70% NaCl and 0.45% sodium tripolyphosphate in the final product. One-third of the fillets in each replication were packaged in a tray covered with plastic wrap and stored in retail cases to simulate retail shelf-life conditions. The remaining fillets were stored at 4 degrees C for 24 h until analysis for marinade retention, cook loss, consumer evaluation, and objective tenderness. The immersion-chilled fillets had a significantly lower pH (5.56) and were lighter (L* 54.73) when compared with the air-chilled fillets (5.64, L* 50.13, respectively). The air-chilled fillets had a significantly higher marinade pickup (15.51%) than the immersion-chilled (14.07%) fillets. However, there were no significant differences in cook loss percentage in either treatment (approximately 20.03). Shear value was significantly higher in the immersion-chilled fillets (4.14 N), indicating less tender meat than the air-chilled fillets (3.62 N). In the consumer analyses, the air-chilled fillets were significantly different. Of the respondents that noted differences, 19% indicated differences in texture, and 9.67% indicated taste differences. The air-chilled treatment had significantly lower aerobic plate count in postpackaging d 0, 3, and 9. Also, coliforms were significantly lower in the air-chilled treatment through d 6. Therefore, air chilling carcasses may improve color, marination yield, tenderness, and increase the shelf life of retail-packaged broiler breast fillets.