Instrumental Methods for Differentiation of Frozen-thawed from Fresh Broiler Breast Fillets

To differentiate between frozen-thawed and fresh broiler breast fillets, different methods such as optical microscopy and measurement of drip loss, pH, torrymeter and K-value were performed. A total of 10 samples of fresh and frozen-thawed breast fillets were stored in a refrigerator ($4^{\circ}C$) for 5 d. Optical microscopy of the frozen-thawed breast fillets found structural changes caused by ice crystals, which may have significantly increased drip loss compared to fresh breast fillet. The pH and K-value could not be distinguished between the two breast fillets during storage. However, the torrymeter values of the fresh and frozen-thawed breast fillets were significantly different (p<0.05). The results indicate that both optical microscopy and torrymeter measurement can be effective methods for differentiating between fresh and frozen-thawed breast fillets. However, optical microscopy may be difficult to implement in the marketplace since it requires much time and effort. Thus, the determination of the torrymeter value is the easiest and most rapid instrumental method among those tested for the differentiation of frozen-thawed chicken breast fillet from fresh one.