Comparison of Quality and Bioactive Compounds in Chicken Thigh Meat from Conventional and Animal Welfare Farm in Korea

This study was conducted to evaluate the difference in the quality of chicken thigh meat from conventional and animal welfare farms during refrigeration storage over 9 days. Chicken thigh meat from conventional (CTC, n = 30) and animal welfare farms (CTW, n = 30) was tested. The pH value was significantly lower in CTW (6.28) than in CTC (6.37) on day 1; however, no significant differences were found on subsequent days. The yellowness of CTW was higher than that of CTC on day 1, but CTW showed lower yellowness than did CTC on day 7 and 9. The cooking loss, water holding capacity, lightness, redness, and coliform levels of CTC did not show any significant difference when compared with CTW during storage. The shear force of CTW was significantly higher than that of CTC on day 1, 3, 7, and 9. Total microorganism and coliform in CTC and CTW increased with increasing storage days. On day 7 and 9, the total microorganism level of CTW was lower than that of CTC. The thiobarbituric acid value of CTW was lower than that of CTC on day 9. The volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) of CTW was lower than that of CTC during storage. Anserine content and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl(DPPH) scavenging activity of CTW was significantly higher than CTC on day 1. These results suggest that CTW stayed fresher for longer than did CTC because of low total microorganism level on day 7 and 9, and VBN during refrigerated storage. (