A research team from UP Los Baños (UPLB) is undertaking a study on how to develop processed meat products from native chicken.

The Food Science Cluster of the College of Agriculture of the UPLB launched the study in August 2009 to determine how various products from native chicken meat can compete with imported commercial broiler breeds.

It was also prompted by the shift in consumer preference for lean, healthy and organically-grown food, including native chicken breeds, which are normally bred under a free range system.

Since they are free range, these breeds feed themselves with more greens and have no chemical residues in their flesh, which is common among the commercially-bred chicken.

The study, entitled “Food Quality Evaluation of Native Chicken,” and led by Dr. Ma. Josie V. Sumague, was funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR).
           
The study aims to evaluate the potential of native chicken meat as substitute for broilers and to develop value-added processed products that will enhance and promote the marketability of native chicken meat.
           
Three native chicken breeds — Paraoakan, Banaba and Joloanon — were used to study and compare their proximate composition and functional properties vis-à-vis those of commercially-bred broilers in terms of color, aroma, structure (fibrous or compact), flavor, tenderness and general acceptability.
           
Preliminary results of the study showed that from the three native chicken breeds, Paraokan gave the highest meat yield at 47 percent and its breast and leg parts had the highest crude protein content.

For the aroma, color and structure, all chicken samples scored an average mean score with no significant differentiation.

Based on the evaluation and study compositions, the Food Science Cluster was able to develop five processed and value-added products from native chicken.

These are: 1) Canned chicken products (chicken arroz caldo, afritada and tinola); 2) chicken nuggets; 3) chicken frankfurters; 4) chicken burgerm and; 5) corned chicken.
           
The group is still fine-tuning and evaluating the quality and marketability of the products developed from native chicken meat and is set to complete the study by August 2010.