EN 18179:2026

Food authenticity - Method for detecting previously frozen poultry meat by determination of HADH activity EN 18179:2026

Publication date:   Jul 26, 2026

Scope

This document specifies a procedure for determining hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (HADH) activity in poultry meat samples by spectrophotometry. The results provide an indication of whether poultry breast meat has been previously frozen, based on the ratio of relative HADH activity, and can be used to verify the labelling of poultry breast meat sold as chilled poultry.
This document is applicable specifically to chicken breast meat. It is not applicable to other cuts and/or types of meat unless these have been validated and appropriate limits have been established.
When following the procedure outlined in this document, for a single sample pressing results in 96,6 % of samples being correctly classified. If a correct classification rate of 99,9 % is required, three sample pressings are necessary; i.e. three chicken breasts (one pressing from each), selected randomly from a batch.
This document is not applicable to minced meat or to poultry preparations.