Effect of Islamic slaughtering on chemical compositions and post-mortem quality changes of broiler chicken meat

Halal or Islamic slaughtering process is implemented for production of halal chicken. It must be executed by a throat cut in order to bring the animal to a quick death without suffering. This leads to more bleeding and rapid speed of blood flow in the blood vessels before clotting. Slaughtering methods can be associated with composition and post-mortem quality of chicken meat, mediated by varying blood retained. This study aimed to compare chemical compositions and post-mortem quality of broiler chicken breast meat obtained from different slaughtering methods. Chicken breast meat from Islamic slaughtering method, decapitation method, conventional neck cut method and un-bled sample contained haem iron contents of 2.41, 2.35, 2.56 and 3.41 mg/100 g sample with Fe content of 10.09, 12.47, 14.21 and 18.10 mg/kg, respectively. Similar haem and non-haem iron contents were found amongst bled samples. During the storage at 4°C for 8 days, chicken meat from Islamic slaughtering method showed the lower peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances within the first four days of storage, compared with others (P < 0.05).There were no differences in protein patterns of chicken meat obtained from different slaughtering methods. PUFA content of chicken meat from Islamic slaughtering method was higher than that of samples bled with other methods after 8 days of storage. Higher mesophilic bacteria count, total viable count and psychrophilic bacterial count were observed in un-bled sample, as compared to the slaughtered samples (P < 0.05). Un-bled samples had the higher a*, ΔE* and ΔC* values than bled counterparts, and L*- and a*- values decreased after 8 days of storage. Islamic slaughtering method could lower Fe or haem in the muscle, thereby lowering lipid oxidation in post-mortem chicken meat.