Product Quality and Consumer’s Acceptability of Cooked Breast Muscle of Nigerian Indigenous Ducks Raised in Different Zones in Ekiti State

The rate and extent of consumer’s demand for safe and quality meat products depend on the processing methods that will not alter the nutritional and eating qualities of the finished products. The study evaluated physicochemical properties and consumer’s acceptability of cooked breast muscle of indigenous ducks raised in different zones in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study was conducted at the Laboratory of Department Animal Science, Faculty Agricultural Science, of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Twenty four matured indigenous ducks aged 24 months comprising 12 drakes and 12 ducks raised under extensive system were randomly selected from three different geo-graphical locations in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Animals were weighed, stunned and exsaguinated, defeathered, eviscerated, breast muscles separated, wrapped in a polythene bags and chilled at 4°C for 24 hours. The breast muscles were divided into two portions, labeled according to sex and locations. The thaw loss and pH were evaluated after 24 hours. The meat samples were cooked by two methods (pan and deep fry). The cook loss, water holding capacity, shear force, lipid stability and yield of cooked breast meat were evaluated. A six- member taste panelist rated the organoleptic characteristics of cooked samples using nine-point hedonic scale. The results showed that water holding capacity, % cook loss, % cook yield, shear force, Thiobarbituric Acid Reacting Substance (Tbars) values and sensory properties were significantly (p<0.05) influenced by cooking methods. Both sexes of location B recorded similar shear force values (8.0 kg/cm2) cooked by pan fry. The overall acceptability of cooked breast meat by deep fry method was recorded from location A ducks of either sex while pan fried breast muscle were observed in location B samples of the drake meat. The study showed that drake breast muscles cooked by either method had better yield, quality and shelf stability than female counterpart.