• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.494-499
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• 2009

To investigate the relationship between the carcass defects considered by a meat grader and quality grade A, a total of 59,700 broiler carcasses, which were reared from September 1, 2007 to August 31, 2008 and randomly selected from 597 broiler farms with 100 broilers in each farm, were graded by a meat grader using the Korean meat grading system. The average slaughter weight of the broilers increased at the 31- to 33-d age but decreased after the 37-d age. The average daily gain to grade A ratio of the broilers was highest in autumn, and the bruises, flesh blemishes, and abnormalities of the carcasses were found to have been most frequent in winter (p<0.05). The number of economical defects (EDs) increased with the increase in the slaughter age, and the correlation coefficients of the EDs and grade A were -0.88, -0.48, and -0.12 in terms of the conformation, exposed flesh/cuts/tears, and skin discolorations of the carcasses, respectively. The correlation coefficients of the non-economical defects (NEDs) and the grade A of the broiler carcasses were -0.16, -0.22, and -0.32 in terms of the feathers, alien substances, and carcass treatment, respectively. The total number of defects (EDs + NEDs) and the grade A were highly correlated (-0.93), and in particular, the correlation between the grade A and the EDs was -0.91. It can be deemed that the grade A from a meat grader is highly correlated with the EDs. Therefore, the results suggest that broiler carcass grade evaluation using a meat grading system can provide direct information on profits in the market. The resulting carcass grade of broilers can also provide the information needed to decide on a proper incentive for a farm that has attained a good quality grade.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.125-129
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• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate the incidence of bone-fracture from pig carcass slaughtered in eight processing plants located in Daejeon and Chungnam area, Korea, during the year 2013 and 2014, and to evaluate the quality of semimembranous muscle from bone-fractured carcasses. Twenty semimembranous muscles were collected from bone-fractured carcasses and none bone-fractured (control) ones, respectively, after storage of pig carcass at $5^{\circ}C$ for 24 h. The pH, cooking loss, and color of semimembranous muscle were measured as quality parameters. In total 4,865,502 of pig carcasses, the occurrence of bone fracture was 0.328% (15,975 heads) and scored the highest defect (26.31%) in total abnormal carcasses. The pH and cooking loss of semimembranous muscle from bone-fractured carcasses were significantly lower than those of control (p<0.05). $L^*$ and $a^*$ values of semimembranous muscle were not significantly different between bone-fractured carcass and control whereas that of $b^*$ values was significantly higher in bone-fractured carcass than control (p<0.05). Eight out of twenty semimembranous muscle collected from bone-fractured carcasses were confirmed as PSE whereas only one in control. In conclusion, the incidence of bone-fracture pre- and during slaughter of pig may cause serious defects in final meat quality. Therefore, the proper handling and treatment should be implicated to avoid and/or decrease the incidence of bone-fracture of pigs.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.266-272
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to investigate the current state of carcass weight distribution and external quality of domestic duck products. A total of 419,164 duck heads were used for the carcass weight distribution analysis. From the results, the average, mode, median, and quartile were 2,164.4, 2,000, 2,200, and 300 g, respectively. Furthermore, carcass yield averaged 70.1% from the live weights of domestic duck products. Duck carcasses had 28.4% external defects and 4.8% external damage. Moreover, the appearance ratio of discoloration was 34.1% and, in particular, the leg region was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that of the other regions. The feather removal defect ratio averaged 44% from the duck carcass surface. The ratio of disjointed and broken bones averaged 9.91% and mostly appeared in wing and leg parts. Fat content was significantly (p<0.05) higher in carcasses with weights >2.3 kg than that of other carcass weight levels, suggesting that market live weight of domestic duck products must be greater than a minimum of 3 kg.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.373-380
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• 2008

This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of feed withdrawal time(FWT) before transport in farm(<2 hrs, 2~4 hrs, 4~6 hrs) and total feed withdrawal time(TFWT) before slaughter(<8 hrs, 8~12 hrs, >12 hrs) on carcass defects, grades and meat quality of broilers. FWT of 2~4 hrs before transport in the farm showed lower incidences of dead-on-arrival chicks(p<0.05) and bruising chicks, and a little higher incidences of 1st or 2nd carcass grade compared to shorter than 2 hrs or 4~6 hrs of FWT in the farm. In the meat quality of breast meat, FWT of 2~4 hrs in the farm tended to show higher pH and water holding capacity(WHC), and lower drip loss, cooking loss and shear force values compared to shorter than 2 hrs or 4~6 hrs of FWT in the farm. In the total microbial counts of breast meat during 7 days of cooler storage, FWT of 2~4 hrs in the farm showed significantly lower value than shorter than 2 hrs of FWT in the farm. In the carcass defects and grades by TFWT before slaughter, TFWT shorter than 8hrs showed lower(p<0.05) incidences of dead-on-arrival chicks and bruising chicks, and higher(p<0.05) incidences of 1st carcass grade than TFWT longer than 12 hrs before slaughter. In the meat quality of broiler breast meat, TFWT longer than 12hrs before slaughter showed lower(p<0.05) pH and WHC values, and a little higher drip loss, cooking loss and shear force values compared to TFWT shorter than 8 hrs or 8~12 hrs before slaughter. In the total microbial counts of broiler breast meat during 7 days of cooler storage, TFWT longer than 12 hrs before slaughter tended to show higher value than TFWT shorter than 8 hrs or 8~12 hrs before slaughter. As a result, 2~4 hrs of feed withdrawal time before transport in the farm and total feed withdrawal time shorter than 8hrs or 8~12hrs before slaughter could be recommended for the production of high quality broiler meat.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.223-229
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• 2009

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the supplementation of antibiotics on meat quality grade of broiler carcasses under the Korean meat grading system. A total of 34,000 broiler carcasses, which were randomly selected 100 broilers from each farm in 340 broiler farms (305 farms with antibiotics; 35 farms without antibiotics), were used in this study. Average daily weight gain of broilers was not significantly affected by the use of antibiotics. The ratio of quality grade A was higher in the broiler carcasses from the farms with antibiotics supplementation (78.87%) than those without antibiotics (73.46%, P<0.05). The numbers of carcass defects, which are down-grade factors of meat grading system, were much higher in the broiler carcasses produced from the farms without antibiotics supplementation when compared with those with antibiotics. In particular, the incidence of the carcass defect on conformation was approximately 1.8 times higher in the carcasses from the farms without antibiotics supplementation than those with antibiotics, which showed the highest negative correlation with quality grade A. Therefore, the improvement of farm management system, the use of antibiotics alternatives from natural products, and a proper incentive should be considered in various ways to encourage farmers to reduce antibiotics usage in their farm and earn consumers' trust for antibiotics-free products.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1807-1817
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• 2018

Objective: This study aimed at investigating white striping (WS) and wooden breast (WB) cases in breast meat collected from commercial broilers. Methods: A total of 183 breast samples were collected from male Ross 308 broilers slaughtered at the age of 6 weeks (n = 100) and 7 weeks (n = 83). The breasts were subjected to meat defect inspection, meat quality determination and histology evaluation. Results: Of 183, 4 breasts from 6-week-old broilers were classified as non-defective while the others exhibited the WS lesion. Among the 6-week-old birds, the defective samples from the medium size birds (carcass weight ${\leq}2.5kg$) showed mild to moderate WS degree with no altered meat quality. Some of the breasts from the 6-week-old birds with carcass weight above 2.5 kg exhibited WB in accompanied with the WS condition. Besides of a reduction of protein content, increases in collagen matter and pH values in the defective samples (p<0.05), no other impaired quality indices were detected within this group. All 7-week-old broilers yielded carcasses weighing above 2.5 kg and showed abnormal characteristics with progressive severity. The breasts affected with severe WS and WB showed the greatest cook loss, hardness, springiness and chewiness (p<0.05). Development of WB induced significantly increased drip loss in the samples (p<0.05). Histology indicated necrotic events in the defective myofibers. Based on logistic regression, increasing percent breast weight by one unit enhanced the chance of WS and WB development with advanced severity by 50.9% and 61.0%, respectively. Delayed slaughter age from 6 to 7 weeks increased the likelihood of obtaining increased WS severity by 56.3%. Conclusion: Cases of WS and WB defects in Southeast Asia have been revealed. Despite few cases of the severe WS and WB, such abnormal conditions significantly impaired technological properties and nutritional quality of broiler breasts.