Dielectric properties of uncooked chicken breast muscles from ten to one thousand eight hundred Megahertz1

The dielectric properties, consisting of the dielectric constant (epsilon') and loss factor (epsilon ''), were measured with an open-ended coaxial-line probe and impedance analyzer for uncooked broiler breast muscle pectoralis major and pectoralis minor, deboned at 2- and 24-h postmortem, over the frequency range from 10 to 1,800 MHz at temperatures ranging from 5 to 85 degrees C. The dielectric property profiles of chicken breast muscle are dependent upon the radio-wave and microwave frequencies and temperature. Increasing frequency from 10 to 1,800 MHz results in decreasing values of the dielectric constant and loss factor regardless of temperature in this range, chicken breast muscle type, or deboning time. However, the response to temperature varies with the frequency, muscle type, and deboning time. There are no differences in the dielectric constant and loss factor values at frequencies of 26 or 1,800 MHz between samples deboned at 2- and at 24-h postmortem. However, the muscle type significantly affects the average values of the dielectric constant and loss factor, with pectoralis minor having significantly higher average values. Both the deboning time and muscle type significantly affect the average values of the loss tangent (tan delta = dielectric loss factor/dielectric constant) at 26 and 1,800 MHz, with pectoralis minor having higher values than pectoralis major and 2-h samples having higher values than 24-h samples. Our quality measurements also show there are significant differences in chicken meat quality characteristics, including color, pH, drip loss, water holding capacity, and texture (Warner-Bratzler shear force value) between the different muscle types and between different deboning times in the same test. These results suggest that there is a probable potential for using dielectric property measurements to assess the quality of chicken meat.