Poultry sensory qualities

Part II provides detailed information on the main quality and safety issues related to the production of organic livestock foods. This includes three chapters (Chapters 7 to 9) which review the effect of livestock husbandry on nutritional and sensory quality of livestock foods including milk and dairy products (Chapter 7), poultry (Chapter 8) and pork (Chapter 9). It also includes four chapters (Chapters 10 to 13) which review the strategies used to minimise microbiological risks and antibiotic and veterinary medicine use in livestock production systems including safety of ruminants (Chapter 10), mastitis treatment in organic dairy production systems (Chapter 11), internal parasites (Chapter 12) and pigs and poultry (Chapter 13). 

Gonzalez-Esquerra, R. and Leeson, S. 2000. Effects of menhaden oil and flaxseed in broiler diets on sensory quality and lipid composition of poultry meat. British Poultry Sci. 41, 481—488. Gonzalez-Esquerra, R. and Leeson, S. 2001. Alternatives for enrichment of eggs and chicken meat with omega-3 fatty acids. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 81, 295-305. 

Jiang, Z., Ahn, D.U., Ladner, L. and Sim, J.S. (1992) Influence of feeding full-fat flax and sunflower seeds on internal and sensory qualities of eggs. Poultry Science 71,378-382. 

More recently, a range of other quality and safety issues have been recognised by consumers and now influence poultry meat and egg buying patterns and behaviour. Most importantly this includes (i) the routine use of antibiotics as growth promoters and curative medicines and the potential for development of transferable antibiotic resistance, (ii) risk associated with enteric pathogen (e.g. Salmonella and Campylobacter) and toxin (e.g. dioxin) contaminants of poultry products, (iii) the environmental impact of poultry production and (iv) the sensory and nutritional quality of eggs and poultry meat (Menzi et al., 1997 Hamm et al., 2002 Rodenburg et al., 2004 Horsted et al., 2005). 

There are relatively few scientific studies which have compared the sensory and nutritional quality of eggs and poultry meat from organic, low input ,... 

The organoleptic properties of food are one of the characteristics that define food quality and govern food selection. Between the food additives that are added to increase its taste and palatability, free L-glutamic acid, as its sodium salt monosodium glutamate (MSG), imparts an intrinsic taste of its own, termed umami, the fifth taste. Umamt means delicious in Japanese, and it is attributed to the sensory properties of MSG and some nucleotides, such as sodium 5 -inosinate (IMP) and sodium 5 -guanyl-ate (GMP). MSG enhances the flavor of certain foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables. 

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