Effects of menhaden oil and flaxseed in broiler diets on sensory quality and lipid composition of poultry meat

1. Three hundred and thirty 1-d-old male broiler chicks from a commercial strain were allocated to 11 dietary treatments comprising combinations of flaxseed at 100 g/kg and menhaden oil (MO) at 7.5 or 15 g/kg. Birds were given the experimental diets 7 or 14 d prior to slaughter. Carcase omega-3 fatty acid profiles and sensory evaluations of different cooked meat portions were carried out. 2. Linolenic acid was preferentially deposited in dark meat and long chain omega-3 fatty acids in white meat. Breast meat sensory quality was not affected in birds given 100 g/kg flaxseed for 14 d (treatment 3), 7.5 g/kg MO for 14 d (treatment 5) or 100 g/kg flaxseed +0.75 g/kg MO for 7 d (treatment 6). In contrast, thigh meat sensory quality decreased in treatments 5 and 6. 3. Feeding flaxseed and MO to birds for just 7 d prior to slaughter resulted in significant omega-3 meat enrichment depending on their dietary concentrations. The linolenic acid and long chain omega-3 fatty acids showed preferential deposition in dark and white meat, respectively, which may affect the sensory quality of various portions differently.