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Measurement of Broiler Breast Meat Shear Values

Department of Poultry Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742; Phone: (301) 405-5784; FAX: (301) 314-9557

Correspondence: J. L. Heath

Consideration of factors affecting instrument measurement of chicken meat tenderness is important in experimental design. To determine what factors affect measurement of tenderness, this study used an instrument that measures the force required to shear the tissue with a multi-blade Kramer shear cell. The force was expressed as shear values (kg/g).

Varying shear rates caused differences in shear values in 9-cm² samples. In samples with smaller (4 cm²) and larger (16cm²) surface areas, shear rate did not affect shear value. Samples 9 or 16 cm² had shear values 25 to 46% lower than samples 4 cm². Dividing peak force by sample weight did not correct for all differences in surface area and weight. Sample shape (circle, rectangle, and square) and sample temperature (4, 26, and 46°C) had little affect on shear values. No statistical differences attributable to load cell size (100 vs. 1000 kg) occurred. Shear values calculated with peak force had a smaller variation than those calculated with yield force. Using peak force and yield force, however, resulted in similar trends in shear values for different sample sizes, sample shapes, and shear rates.

Key Words: Load cell • sample shape • sample size • sample temperature • shear rate • shear values