Original Contribution MEAT QUALITY AND COMPOSITION IN JAPANESE QUAILS

Abstract

The increasing interest of consumers to quality of foods and that of meat in particular, motivated our aim to perform a detailed analysis of the quality and the composition of meat from Japanese quails. The investigation showed that the slaughter yield in Japanese quails ranged between 64-65%. Following grilling proportions of meat differed according to the parts of the animal. 24 hours after slaughter, meat pH was also variable in different parts and so was free water percentage. The water retention capacity of meat was better in female quails − 15.7 % and 20.2 % for pectoral muscles and leg muscles, respectively. Similarly protein and fat distributions varied in different parts of the animal.