Assessing chemical, microbiological and sensorial shelf-life markers to study chicken meat quality within divergent production systems (organic vs. conventional)

In recent years, the increasing interest in healthier and more sustainable food behaviours led to a greater demand for organic products, especially in animal foods. This study aims to increase knowledge on the organic meat quality through a comparative shelf-life analysis of organic and conventional broiler (Ross 308) breast meat. A total of 11 biogenic amines and 21 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were monitored combining the results with meat pH and microbiological and sensorial analyses during 10 days of storage (days 0, 3, 6 10). The organic meat showed generally a lower value in spoilage markers than the conventional one. Meat spoilage-related VOC concentrations underlined important differences, especially on day 10. The same trend emerged by the total biogenic amines concentration on day 10 with values of 853.24 mg kg-1 in organic and 354.12 mg kg-1 in conventional meat. Microbiological analysis reported a delayed bacterial proliferation in organic meat. Conventional meat maintains a better aspect, but odour and elasticity scores were higher in organic ones. In conclusion, chicken breast meat from organic production systems showed overall higher shelf-life than chicken meat from conventional inside-ground farms.