Dietary Medium-Chain Fatty Acids and Chicken Breast Meat Quality: Comparing Crude Palm Kernel Oil and Its Fatty Acid Distillation By-Product

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of replacing conventional dietary fat sources with crude palm kernel oil (PKO) or its by-product, palm kernel fatty acid distillate (PKFAD), on breast meat quality in female broiler chickens. Birds were fed diets containing 4% added fat during the starter phase and 6% during the finisher phase, using soybean oil (SO) during the starter phase and palm oil (PO) during the finisher phase as the control diet, whereas the experimental diets contained PKO or PKFAD. Fresh and refrigerated (commercial conditions; 7 days) chicken breast samples were assessed for pH, drip loss, cooking loss, and texture profile analysis (TPA). After refrigeration, using PKFAD led to meat with lower chewiness than when using SO-PO. Refrigeration decreased cohesiveness, with no differences among dietary treatments. Other quality parameters were not altered. For these reasons, the PKFAD and PKO used in this study are interesting fat sources for broiler feeds when seeking fat and by-product alternatives to conventional ones to contribute to the sustainability of the food chain.