Moisture Retention by Water- and Air-Chilled Chicken Broilers During Processing and Cutup Operations

The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of storage and cutting on moisture retention by air- and water-chilled broiler chickens. Sixty-four broilers were slaughtered, chilled by cold air or immersion in water, stored over night, cut into fore- and hindquarters, and then stored an additional 24 h. Air chilling conditions were 4 degrees C with air velocity of 2.2 m3/min. Water chilling conditions were 1 degree C with mechanical agitation. Moisture absorption and retention were observed as weight changes throughout the process. Air-chilled carcasses lost an average of 0.68% of their postslaughter weight in storage prior to cutting but lost no more during cutting or postcutting storage. The water-chilled carcasses absorbed 11.7% moisture in chilling but retained 6.98% through precutting storage, 6.00% through cutting and 3.90% through postcutting storage. These data offer baseline values for use in complying with new USDA processing standards.