Comparison between Allo-Kramer and Warner-Bratzler devices to assess rabbit meat tenderness

A study was conducted to compare Allo-Kramer (AK) and Warner-Bratzler (WB) devices to evaluate rabbit meat texture and to assess their correlations with sensory tenderness. Meat samples characterized by a wide range of tenderness were prepared by boning longissimus lumborum muscles from 90 carcasses at different post mortem times (1, 3, 24 h). The right loin of each carcass was used for WB and AK tests, whereas the left loin to assess sensory tenderness and juiciness. The sensory test indicated a higher tenderness and juiciness of rabbit meat obtained from carcasses boned at 24 h post mortem in comparison with 1 and 3 h post mortem. Both AK and WB methods were able to detect these differences. The AK shear force as well as the WB shear force and area were significantly correlated to meat sensory tenderness (r=-0.58, -0.43 and -0.56, respectively; P<0.001) and juiciness, whereas no correlation was found between sensory tenderness and WB firmness. These results indicate that both WB and AK methods can be used to evaluate the rabbit meat tenderness and give similar levels of correlation with sensory scores. However, AK method is characterized by a sample preparation procedure easier to standardize and less time consuming than WB method.