Comparison of pH, Water Holding Capacity and Color among Meats from Korean Native Chickens

This study investigated the initial pHs measured 15 min post-mortem, the ultimate pHs, the water holding capacities (WHCs), and the colors of meats obtained from five lines of Korean native chicken (KNC) for the development of a breed for high-quality meat. Additionally, the effect of sex was examined. In total, 595 F1 progeny (Black [B], Grey-Brown [G], Red-Brown [R], White [W] and Yellow-Brown [Y]) from 70 full-sib families were used. The chickens were slaughtered at 20 wk of age, and the measurement traits of all breast and thigh meats from the 595 chickens were analyzed. The initial pHs 15 min post-slaughter of the breast and thigh meats were affected by the line and sex of the Korean native chickens (P * value of the breast meat, the meat color was significantly affected by line and sex (P * values and positive correlations with the a * values of the breast and thigh meats. Based on these results, we concluded that the line W male chickens and the line G and W female chickens may be good candidates the development of a breed for high-quality meat because these lines exhibited the properties of high initial pHs or/and ultimate pHs.