Shelf-Life Study of Sous Vide Chicken Gizzards

According to the OECD-FAO, by the year 2030, global consumption of meat proteins is projected to increase by 14%, and poultry is expected to represent 41% of all animal-protein meats. Nonetheless, we have seen an aggregation of waste from poultry processing due to the environmental costs of processing and the nature of waste disposal. An example of a poultry byproduct waste is chicken gizzards, which are a good source of minerals such as iron, zinc, and calcium; and contain a low content of saturated fatty acids. However, traditional cooking is not well suited for lean cuts of meat, because the extreme changes in temperature will affect the overall tenderness and consumer acceptability of the product.

Sous vide serves as an ideal cooking method for chicken gizzards, due to the fact that it cooks raw materials under controlled time and temperature conditions (55-95˚C; 1-7 hours) to achieve a high-quality product. However, sous vide offers a mild heat treatment, which may be insufficient to reduce or destroy pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, and result in potential food safety concerns. 

As Food Science & Technology students, our goal was to investigate and promote a new approach that would cater to consumers, both restaurant and home cooks, about the benefits of cooking and consuming animal offal like gizzards. We have designed our research project and accomplished the following objectives: 

• Outlined a culinary technique that consumers can use to cook chicken gizzards.
• Evaluated the effectiveness of cooking chicken gizzards using sous vide by examining the microbiological profile and weight loss of sous vide chicken gizzards over 21 days.
• Determined that sous viding chicken gizzards at 65°C for 30 minutes would meet the safety requirements of Health Canada’s guideline of ready-to-eat food.