An Analytical Approach for Differentiation of Meat from Slaughtered and Dead Chicken at Different Periods of Time
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/jms.2026.21.01.8Keywords:
Differentiation, Dead chicken, Meat, Quality Control, Slaughtered chicken, Time periodAbstract
Meat shops in developing countries are often located along roadsides, where animals are slaughtered in front of consumers and fresh meat is supplied regularly to institutions such as restaurants and defence establishments. This practice creates opportunities for unethical substitution of meat from slaughtered animals with that from dead animals, particularly in poultry. Scientifically, meat reaches its ultimate pH within approximately 6 hours post-slaughter, a period during which the risk of such substitution is higher. Limited research has been conducted to differentiate meat from slaughtered and dead chickens at various post-mortem intervals. Therefore, a pilot study was undertaken to evaluate physicochemical, microbiological, and proximate parameters for distinguishing meat from slaughtered and dead chickens at 1, 3, and 6 hours after slaughter or death. The results revealed that cooking loss, myoglobin content, moisture, and microbial counts were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in meat from dead chickens. In contrast, pH, extract release volume, water holding capacity, protein, and fat content were lower compared to meat from slaughtered chickens. Over time, most quality parameters decreased, while cooking loss and microbial load increased. These findings indicate that such parameters can effectively differentiate meat sources.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rohit Kumar Jaiswal, Aseem Kumar Anshu, Sushma Kumari, Gargi Mahapatra, Anjay, Sanjay Kumar, Kaushlendra Kumar, Ajeet Kumar, Himalaya Bhardwaj
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
