Nutritional strategies and management practices to improve poultry meat quality

The estimated growth in world population is increasing global food demand, particularly of protein. From a historical perspective, meat has represented the main protein source for humans, contributing to biosocial well-being and sustenance (Leroy and Praet, 2015; Leroy and De Smet, 2019). Among the different types of meat, poultry meat has experienced a significant production increase in the past 50 years, and future forecasts seem to confirm that the same trend will be observed in the next decade (Windhorst, 2017). Many factors have contributed to the universal appreciation of poultry meat, including its affordability, nutritional and sensory properties, versatility and ease of preparation as well as the absence of religious limitations related to its consumption (Baldi et al., 2020). In addition, poultry meat production is considered relatively efficient and sustainable in terms of resources utilization and environmental impact, which are crucial aspects for fulfilling the increasing protein demand in an efficient and sustainable way (Zampiga et al., 2021a). Modern consumers are increasingly aware of the nutritional value and quality traits of foods, with special regard to the importance of high-quality protein for healthy life and well-being. Poultry meat is generally recognized as ‘healthy’ mostly because of its nutritional profile which is characterized by high protein, low fat and cholesterol content and balanced ω-6/ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratio (Petracci et al., 2015). Poultry meat quality could be influenced by both genetic (e.g. bird genetic background and metabolic features) and environmental related factors (e.g. nutrition, management and microclimatic conditions) as well as their interaction. Among the environmental factors, nutrition has been extensively regarded as one of the most important determinants of poultry meat quality, being able to induce changes in the proximate composition and technological properties of poultry meat (Cavani et al., 2009). Furthermore, other factors such as bird exposure to high environmental temperatures or castration (technically called ‘caponization’ in chickens) were associated with significant modifications of meat quality traits (Calik, 2014; Zaboli et al., 2019). The aim of this chapter is, therefore, to summarize the most relevant findings concerning the effects of nutrition and feeding strategies on the different facets of the meat quality concept as well as to discuss the consequences of some environmental and management factors, such as heat stress and caponization, on this crucial topic for the modern poultry industry.