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The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of aging prior to deboning and deepfreezing on the tenderness of cooked broiler breast fillets. Broilers (Ross-208) that were 37 and 38 d old were slaughtered in a licensed poultry meat plant. After spray chilling, carcasses with BW between 1,080 and 1,300 g were selected for the study and transported to a chilling room (2 to 4°C). The whole carcasses were aged for up to 24 h. During the aging process, continuous measurements were made of pH values, electric conductivity, and firmness of the raw fillets. After the aging process, the carcasses were deboned, and the breast fillets were immediately frozen to an internal temperature of -20°C. Tenderness was measured both mechanically with a Warner-Bratzler shear force device and by sensory testing. The ultimate pH values in the fillets were reached during the first 5 h of aging. Electric conductivity increased during the whole aging period. During the first hours of aging, firmness increased significantly, corresponding with the onset of rigor mortis. After between 8 and 9 h of aging, firmness decreased significantly. Shear force values of aged fillets also changed significantly; the highest values were found at the beginning of aging, which then decreased from the sixth hour. The results of the instrumental tenderness measurements were confirmed by the sensory evaluations. Implementation of in-plant measurements of firmness, thus, seemed to be useful in predicting the sensory quality of poultry meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose/Background: The VA HTK Program aims to provide nutrition education and increase participants' self-efficacy to achieve personal health goals, confidence, and frequency of cooking at home. We evaluated the Veterans’ self-reported impact of a single HTK class. Methods: A HTK single class questionnaire was deployed in March 2018 to 161 VA sites that offer Nutrition Services for HTK program assessment and improvement. Veterans who attended a single class completed the questionnaire using a 7-point Likert scale, assessing participants' self-perception of class impact. Results: As of January 2019,109/161 sites reported offering HTK programs and 28/109 offer single session classes. 1,859 of the 2,340 questionnaires submitted had complete data. 86% were male, average age 62.5 and average BMI 33 (SD: 7, range 15-72). Nearly all HTK participants (91%) learned new recipes that will help them on their journey to healthy living, (88%) were confident that this class will help them reach their health goals, (86%) learned new cooking techniques in the class, and (89%) planned to make a recipe at home that they learned in their HTK class. Conclusion: From a single class intervention, Veterans report learning new recipes and cooking techniques that they plan to utilize at home and increased confidence that this class will help them reach their personal health goals. This one-time intervention may be effective in increasing home cooking and have a positive impact on Veterans' health behaviors. Consideration should be given to expanding and enhancing the HTK programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]