Major trends in research into domestic ducks and recent results concerning meat quality

The introduction presents the main countries producing duck meat and the different species and rearing systems used in production. The review is then divided into two parts. The first part concerns meat quality. The evolution of duck meat post-mortem is described. The effects of high muscle development on technological and sensorial quality are also presented. Finally, the influences of the main factors (genotype, age and nutrition) involved in the variations in intramuscular lipid levels on technological and sensorial quality of duck meat are detailed. The second part reviews the latest trends in research into domestic ducks, particularly nutrition, reproduction, behaviour, welfare and genetics.