ATRIBUTOS SENSORIAIS DA CARNE DE CODORNAS EM FUNÇÃO DE DIFERENTES NÍVEIS DE ENERGIA METABOLIZÁVEL

The objective of this was to evaluate the influence of different levels of metabolizable energy on the sensorial characteristics of the Pectoralis major muscle meat in european quails according to the energy levels of the diet. A total 270 quails were distributed in three treatments, five repetitions and 18 birds per experimental. The treatments in metabolizable energy (ME), 2,900, 3,050 and 3,200 kcal/kg. The Pectoralis major muscle remained in a brine under 10% for 10 minutes, they were then conditioned in papear aluminum and roasted until reaching internal temperature of 72ºC, being later sent to the testing. In order to analyze the sensorial attributes: appearance, odor, flavor, softness and global acceptance, 83 provers participated. They remained isolated and received a hedonic scale with eight points. There was acceptance of the quail meat by the tasters, with most of the attributes classified as "moderately liked”. The inclusion of ME diet did not influence the attributes of the meat (P>0.05), possibly because of the low incidence of intramuscular fat in the Pectoralis major muscle. In conclusion the meat of quail presents good acceptability by the provers, and the energy levels used did not influence the sensorial attributes of the meat.