Improving meat quality in SASSO chickens: A study of forage crop and fermented plant juice

Ethical and sustainable practices on rearing free-range chicken not only provide healthful benefits but also satisfaction with meat flavor. Thus, this study evaluated the impact of different forage crops and supplementation of Fermented Mix Plant Juice on the meat quality of SASSO chicken. A total of 144 day-old chicks were randomly assigned to a split-plot design, with four forage crop treatments (control/ no forage, Arachis pintoi, Paspalum conjugatum, and a mixture of A. pintoi and P. conjugatum) as the main plot and four FMPJ supplementation levels (control/synthetic, 5 mL, 10 mL, and 15 mL) as the subplot. After 60 days of rearing, chicken meat quality was evaluated through a sensory evaluation by trained panelists, assessing key attributes like color, odor, texture, tenderness, juiciness, and overall acceptability. P. conjugatum (A3) and A. pintoi (A2) have highly significant effects (P<0.01) producing more desirable meat color, odor, juiciness, and overall acceptability. Supplementation of FMPJ has a highly significant effect (P<0.01) on meat texture and a significant effect (P<0.05) on odor and overall acceptability. Highly significant interaction effects (P<0.01) were observed when forage was combined with appropriate FMPJ supplementation levels, particularly in meat odor, texture, tenderness, juiciness, and overall acceptability. published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES)