Water holding capacity (WHC) was determined as percentage of free water (24 h) following the method proposed by Irie and Swatland (1992) with slight modifications. 1.5 g of muscle was centrifuged at 7×103 g for 15 min. Fluid loss was determined as the proportion of fluid released from the sample. Measures were done by duplicate. Results are presented as g water/100 g muscle.