Post Harvest Technology

Research Activities & Achievements

Post-harvest loss assessment:

• Quantitative losses occurring in eggs and market-ready broilers (5-7 weeks) at selected poultry farms, marketing channels (wholesale/retail), egg processing plant and house-hold consumer's level assessed through random sample survey.

Quality evaluation:

• Carcass characteristics including meat yields as well as meat and egg quality of different genetic stocks of diversified poultry species maintained at the Institute have been carried out.
• Effect of growth hormone and myostatin genes affecting body weight in broilers evinced that fast growing broilers possess relatively less organoleptic quality than normal growing broilers.

Processing:

• Optimum pre-slaughter fasting period and pre-slaughter electrical stunning to address poultry welfare concern during processing, scalding time and temperature combination and chilling methods, etc. for primary processing of poultry have been standardized.
• Hot deboning, common salt and polyphosphate treatments of poultry carcasses resulted in energy saving and reduction in processing time.
• Enzymatic method for the tenderization of meat from spent hens/culled breeding stocks have been evolved.

Preservation:

• Developed preservation technology for poultry meat through curing and/or smoking, organic acid dip and usage of natural preservatives (extracts of spices and condiments).
• Optimized oil-coating, refrigerated storage and brining of shell eggs for extending their shelf-life.

Value added products:

• Value-added meat products such as chicken sausages, patties, nuggets, mixed meat loaf, steak, rolls, cooked meat stock, gizzard snacks, chicken gizzard pickles, chicken skin-meat cutlets, intermediate moisture chicken meat, gizzard and quail meat pickles, etc., as well as egg products viz. albumen flakes, pancake, egg patties, egg pizza, egg crepes, egg roll, egg strips, egg waffles, egg soufflé, egg cutlet, brined and pickled eggs developed and their shelf-life assessed. Over half a dozen processes developed in this regard have been commercialized.
• Processes also optimized for the utilization of low-value carcass components such as skin, gizzard, heart, liver and wings as value-added meat products.
• Developed poultry meat-based functional foods.
• Evaluated comparative efficiency of some flexible packaging materials as an alternative to conventional rigid containers, and modified atmosphere packaging for shelf-life extension of convenient poultry products.

Quality assurance:

• Microbiological quality of poultry meat and processed poultry products assessed.
• Conducted surveillance and optimized PCR based detection techniques for some potent pathogens like Salmonella enteritidis, S. typhimurium, E. coli, Staph aureus and Campylobacter in chicken eggs.
• A few bacterial pathogens in chicken eggs were quantified using Real–Time PCR.
• Antibiotic resistant profile of these pathogens was generated and techniques for decontamination of chicken eggs using generally regarded as safe (GRAS) preservatives were standardized.
• Occurrence of residues of pesticides (BHC, DDT, Elderin, Dieldrin, Chloropyrophos, Monocrotophos, Dichlorovos, etc.), heavy metals (As, Pb, Cd, Mo, etc.) and veterinary drugs (tetracycline, enrofloxacin) in samples of meat, liver and adipose tissue of chicken from farm and market samples collected from northern and eastern region of the country was determined and found to be below their respective MRLs.

By-product utilization:

• Conversion of poultry slaughter by-products into feather meal, offal meal and mixed by-product meal optimized and their nutritive value evaluated for incorporation in poultry rations.
• Technique for preparing pet food biscuit for adult dogs and semi-moist patties for pups utilizing poultry slaughter by-products developed, nutritive value evaluated and successful feeding trials conducted.