Effects of stunning duration on quality characteristics of early deboned chicken fillet

The objective of this study was to determine effects of electrical stunning duration on quality of broiler chicken fillets. Seventy-two broiler chickens were electrically stunned for 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 s, slaughtered, and chilled. After 1 h post-mortem, both pectoral muscles were excised and cooked. Cooking loss, pH, cooked color values, and shear values were measured. As stunning time increased, pH and shear values significantly increased. Except for a small but significant increase in yellowness, color values were unaffected by stunning duration. Cooking loss was unaffected by stunning duration. These data indicate that stunning duration can affect post-mortem muscle metabolism as measured by pH change. Therefore, control of the process of slaughtering broilers requires careful regulation of stunning duration