Evaluation of IC Meat and Egg Composition Quality

Indigenous Chicken products are generally perceived to be more preferred by the consumers due to several desirable characteristics. However, continuous supply of good quality IC meat to a wider market remains a challenge. There is limited scientific information on processing system that would guarantee farmers supply of safe and high quality IC meat to consumers.

InCIP has initiated a study to evaluate meat and egg composition quality from indigenous chicken. The study by Mr Bernard Oloo, a PhD student of Food Science and Technology at Egerton University, Department of Dairy, Food Science and Technology aims to develop a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system for processing Kenyan IC meat to ensure a reliable supply of safe IC meat that satisfies a wider market both locally and internationally.

The system will be able to guarantee IC product safety. The study will then evaluate the quality and safety of the IC meat processed under HACCP with the view to gaining a deeper understanding of how these characteristics contribute to the perceived consumer preference of the IC’s meat from the different clusters.

The study will also look at the effect of IC rearing method on the safety and quality of the IC meat processed under the HACCP plan. This will lead to a better understanding of their attributes and how to exploit such attributes to improve market access and fair pricing for these IC. The proposal for this study has been accepted by the graduate school and the preliminary data collection is expected to kick off from the month of January the Year 2015.