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¹ Konya Food Control Laboratory Directorate, Toprak Sarnıç Mah. Karaciğancami Sok. No: 1/A Meram, Konya, Turkey
² Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey - This study assessed the effects of electrical water bath stunning process on the meat quality of broilers processed in a commercial slaughterhouse in Turkey. Twenty-five live broilers were electrically stunned while twenty-five live broilers were not. Electrical stunning (30 V, 30 mA, 220 Hz alternative current) was applied for 17 seconds (s) in a water bath. The percentage of the blood loss was determined at 150 s after slaughter. The electrical stunning significantly decreased the percentage of the blood loss in broilers (P≤0.01). conversely, higher pH values were observed at 15 min and 24 h post-mortem (PM) in muscle samples from broilers slaughtered following stunning compared to un-stunned controls (P≤0.01). Electrical stunning had no significant effect on L* a* and b*colour values (P≥0.05). The Water Holding Capacity (WHC) of meat taken from stunned broilers was significantly higher than those of the control birds. (P≤0.01). Texture analysis revealed greater toughness and firmness values in the meat of stunned broilers (P≥0.05). Keywords : Meat quality, Electrical stunning, Texture