2024 Volume 53 Issue 2 Pages 104-109
A negative correlation between the development of lifestyle diseases and protein intake is known in contemporary Japan, where a substantial proportion of the population is concerned with health issues. In this study, we aimed to develop a chicken meat product with enhanced functionalities to provide the society with a solution to increase protein intake. Specifically, we developed a centrifugal accelerator using space technology to breed chickens under a high-gravity environment; thus, we successfully improved the quality of chicken meat by utilizing the effect of the gravity response of the organism to enhance functionalities of its meat, that is, anti-gravity muscles. The chicken meat obtained in this study was leaner than that of chickens bred using conventional methods. Additionally, the meat had a firm and resilient texture that added more value to the meat quality of “jidori” chicken breed used in this study. We have succeeded in non-destructively estimating the hardness of chicken meat reared under this high gravity condition by analyzing image measurement data. This study showed that it is possible to sort high value- added chicken meat without contact.
