Diversity of poultry production practices and impact on quality of meat and eggs

Abstract

Poultry production practices can be very diverse: from different conventional ways (intensive productions) and extensive types (i.e. Label Rouge or other labeled productions) to organic production. Differences begin with different growth periods and rigor in production protocols, continue in the use of different hybrids or breeds of chicken, differences in feed and feeding programs, and inevitably end with different product prices.Out of product price, the main question for costumers, and especially for nutritionists, is a difference in meat and egg quality from different production practices. Quality today meens that they must know not only intrinsic (sensory, nutritive and technological value) but also extrinsic (environmental impact, animal welfare) quality parameters of produced meat and eggs, and that safety of food must be secured (if not safe, not food). Meat and eggs from intensive, extensive, and organic poultry production show relatively small differences in internal quality (in some sensory, nutritive and technological parameters), and relatively medium (environmental impact) to large (animal welfare) differences in external (extrinsic) quality and price. However, for some consumers impact of the intensive production on animals and nature can also cause the “bitter” taste of the products obtained in this way.The research group from the Institute for Animal Husbandry has dealt with every aspect of poultry production for many years. Annual tests of the genetic potential of the most popular broiler hybrids shows continuous improvements (in 2020: 2.65kg on 42 days with 1.63 kg feed/kg gain; in 2021: 2.87kg with 1.66 kg /kg). These birds for intensive production also have the best meat yield, especially breast meat, but lately we often observe a decrease in technological value of breast meat (pale-soft-exudative meat, wooden breast, white sriping, spaghetty meat), otherwise very rare in meat from extensive or organic production. The nutritional value of produced meat and eggs mainly depends on the poultry diet used, not directly on the type of production. We can relatively easily modulate several vitamins (A,E,D), minerals (Se, J, F), skin/yolk color (carotenoids) and fatty acid profile in meat and eggs to some extent, with modulation in poultry nutrition and use of synthetic (or natural) feed additives. In products from extensive/organic production with good pasture, we often noticed a slightly higher content of these nutrients, especially in eggs.