Abstract: Breast and leg meat samples from three chicken breeds including 40-day-old white-feather chicken, 120-day-old yellow-feather chicken and 200-day-old spent Fenxi hen were used to prepare cooked meat and soup. A multiple-frequency pulse electronic tongue was used to characterize and classify both raw and cooked samples, and their electrode signals were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA). Significantly different electronic tongue sensor signals were observed for raw breast and leg samples from the same chicken breed. In addition, silver electrode was better than platinum electrode for the discrimination of breast meat samples from different chicken breeds, but platinum electrode was effective in discriminating leg meat samples from different chicken breeds. However, single electrodes were not effective in discriminating cooked leg meat and soup. The optimized use of electrodes allowed effective discrimination among different chicken breeds for raw breast and leg meat, cooked leg meat and soup. This study suggests that multiple-frequency pulse electronic tongue has potential applications in discrimination among meat and meat products from different chicken breeds.

Key words: electronic tongue, chicken breed, chicken product, discrimination