Effect of a dietary probiotic on some quality characteristics of raw broiler drumsticks and breast meat

The effect of probiotics in broiler feeding was investigated by evaluating poultry carcass meat quality. Feeds supplemented with different levels of a probiotic (0.0, 0.1 and 0.2%) containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae (115-Biogallinox) were used in feeding Ross 308 male chicks for 49 days. At the end of the trial period all broilers were sacrificed. After standard dissection of the carcasses, breasts and drumsticks were divided into two groups and vacuum or aerobically packaged than stored at 3 +/- 0.5C for 12 days. The breasts and drumsticks were analyzed for pH, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total mesophilic, total psychrotrophic, lactic acid and Enterobacteriaceae counts every two days during storage. The feeding of probiotic in broiler diets increased pH values of breast and drumstick (P < 0.01) but TBARS, total psychrotrophic bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae counts decreased (P < 0.01). It was determined that pH, TBARS and Enterobacteriaceae counts were lower in breast than drumstick (P < 0.05); but lactic acid bacterial count was higher (P < 0.05) in the drumstick samples. The pH, TBARS and bacterial counts increased during storage (P < 0.01) except for total mesophilic bacteria. The pH, TBARS, total aerobic psychrotrophic bacteria and Enterobacteriacea counts were lower in vacuum than in aerobically packaged samples (P < 0.05).