ABSTRACT

This chapter is intended to inform the reader of advances and developmental strategies in poultry meat tenderness. As is common with all food products, texture or tenderness, as the terms are interchangeably used, is the final ‘grade’ that consumers place on a product. Meat tenderness is commonly known to be the hardest predicted trait for meat products as each consumer has their own level of acceptance. It should also be noted that texture development is a very intricate process that is multifaceted. The discussion to follow will focus on this multitude of factors that affect texture development and will express how complex final meat tenderness is in poultry products.