2. Materials and method
2.1. Samples
Fresh broiler chicken breastmeat was collected froma commer-
cial meat processing plant (Qingdao Tender Meat Company, Shan-
dong, China). All visible fat and connective tissues were removed
prior to the experiment. Breast meat, about 250 g per replicate,
was randomly selected and cut into 10 7.5 2.5 cm3
pieces.
These pieces were packed in moisture impermeable polyethylene
bags, sealed and stored at 20C for each cycle. For each week, a
set of frozen samples was thawed at 4 C for 12 h. The frozen
samples were subjected to either 0–5 or 6 freeze–thaw cycles. A
weekly analysis of the samples was performed over six weeks with
thawing of samples in a refrigerator at 4 C for 12 h.