Are Meat Quality Traits and Sensory Attributes in Favor of Slow-Growing Chickens?

Simple Summary Considering the food product meat, consumers are increasingly interested in nutritional quality, and also in extrinsic attributes such as animal welfare and environmental sustainability. In this regard, local chicken breeds can represent an opportunity to exploit alternative markets and to satisfy the above-mentioned consumer expectations. With this in mind, the present study compared quality and sensory characteristics of meat obtained from three different chicken genotypes: a conventional broiler Hybrid, and two endangered indigenous Italian breeds, i.e., Padovana and Polverara. Results indicated that an unknown meat product with peculiar quality and sensory characteristics might not be appreciated by inexperienced consumers. This is because quality perception is influenced by many factors such as specific cultural background and familiarity with a product's sensory attributes. Therefore, the development of appropriate marketing strategies is a crucial step to inform consumers about product characteristics, thus allowing to exploit a promising market potential which, in turn, would also allow chicken breed conservation. The present study compared certain quality features and sensory attributes of the meat obtained from three different chicken genotypes: two endangered slow-growing indigenous breeds (Padovana: PAD, Polverara: POL) and a commercial broiler (Hybrid). Chickens (n= 42/genotype) were slaughtered at their commercial slaughter age: 183 days for PAD and POL chickens, and 35 days for the Hybrid. Breast and leg meat were dissected and used for qualitative evaluations. Results highlighted that genotype significantly affected final breast weight, with Hybrid showing higher values than both indigenous chickens. Conversely, PAD and POL meat was instrumentally tougher and richer in haem iron compared to the Hybrid. The sensory analysis conducted by a trained panel showed that the textural aspects and metallic flavor perception of PAD and POL meat differed from that of the Hybrid. These aspects were probably responsible for the lower overall acceptability of the PAD and POL meat compared to the Hybrid, as expressed by the consumer panel. A key step in making PAD and POL meat acceptable to consumers and stimulating its market seems thus the development of appropriate marketing strategies to transform product peculiarities in strength points.