Effects of electrical stunning frequency and voltage combinations on the presence of engorged blood vessels in goose liver

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of nine electrical stunning methods using various frequency and voltage combinations on the occurrence of engorged blood vessels in goose liver. Two hundred seventy Gourmaud geese (liver-type line SI 14) were slaughtered at 12 wk of age, in groups of 90 at three different times. Thirty birds each were subjected to one of the nine stunning methods. Neck cutting was performed immediately after stunning. The duration of exsanguination was 11 min. After completion of bleeding, the birds were scalded, defeathered manually, and kept refrigerated. At 1 d postmortem, the carcasses were eviscerated and cut up. From the slaughterhouse, the livers chilled in ice were transported to the cannery where they were weighed and graded at 2 d postmortem and were further processed. All of the veins and capillaries full of blood were removed from livers, because their presence was a hazard to product quality by causing discoloration of the canned liver, and the percentage of liver weight loss was then determined. The loss in liver weight due to removal of engorged blood vessels was reduced (P < 0.05) at 350 Hz, 70 to 90 V, and 80 to 85 mA when compared to the results obtained with any other stunning method tested. It was concluded that the use of high-frequency currents for electrical stunning of liver geese might have considerable commercial advantages.