Instrumental compression force and meat attribute changes in woody broiler breast fillets during short-term storage

Abstract

Woody breast (WB) is a myopathy of the Pectoralis major muscle in broilers that is characterized by increased hardness of the raw fillet. This defect increases economic losses due to associated decreased meat quality and the addition of training skilled laborers to identify problematic fillets. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine if compression force (CF) could be used as a non-invasive method of detecting WB and to assess changes in meat attributes during cold storage. Deboned fillets (n = 121) were collected from 8-wk-old broilers, and categorized as normal (NORM, n = 42), mild (MILD, n = 39), and moderate/severe (SEV, n = 40) for WB. Right fillet weight, drip loss, and CF of the cranial region were measured on the day of processing (day 0) and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 d of cold storage (4°C). Left fillets were sampled for sarcomere length (SL) and gravimetric fragmentation index (GFI) analysis following 1, 3, and 8 d of cold storage. Initial breast fillet weight, CF, cumulative drip loss, and SL increased as severity of WB category increased (P < 0.05). Compression force was highly correlated to WB severity (rs = 0.79). Compression force, SL, and GFI declined with storage time (P < 0.05), whereas cumulative drip loss increased (P<0.05). Cumulative drip loss, SL, and GFI had interactions between storage length and WB category (P < 0.05), where SEV generally changed more than NORM over time. The results of this study indicate that increased severity of WB fillets is associated with higher CF compared to normal fillets. Furthermore, there is a softening effect of the meat over time and data suggest that moisture (drip loss) and myofibril proteolysis (fragmentation) contribute to these changes. Using instrumental CF to assess fillet hardness can be used as a reliable tool to identify WB. However, adaptability in the commercial processing require additional studies prior to the incorporation into the processing plant for online grading purposes.

Relationships between instrumental texture measurements and subjective woody breast condition scores in raw broiler breast fillets

“…(2017) found that WB scores increased as fillet weights increased regardless of the bird age. Chatterjee et al., 2016 , Livingston et al., 2019 , Mudalal et al., 2015 , and Sun et al. (2018) showed that the weights of normal fillets were consistently lower than those of fillets with the WB condition.…”

“… Dalgaard et al. (2018) and Sun et al. (2018) found that there was a significant difference in CF between WB and normal fillets.…”

“…For example, Tijare et al. (2016) and Sun et al. (2018) categorized broiler breast fillets into 4 different WB groups based on palpable hardness and flexibility: 0 = normal (fillets that were flexible throughout), 1 = mild (fillets that were hard mainly in the cranial region but flexible otherwise), 2 = moderate (fillets that were hard throughout but flexible in the mid to caudal region), 3 = severe (fillets that were extremely hard and rigid throughout from the cranial region to caudal tip).…”

Wooden‐Breast, White Striping, and Spaghetti Meat: Causes, Consequences and Consumer Perception of Emerging Broiler Meat Abnormalities

“…. Coon, Chen, and Owens (2018) found positive and significant correlations between compression force and the severity of WB condition (r = 0.79) in raw breast muscles, clearly incriminating the histological degeneration of muscle in its altered texture properties. Soglia et al (2017) reported that the enlargement of extracellular matrix and fibrosis might contribute in explaining the different texture properties between superficial and deep layers in WB samples, with the superficial part exhibiting a higher amount of larger particles and a higher compression force compared to deeper layers.…”

“…The impact of the myopathies on the textural properties of chicken breast muscles has been profusely documented by studies applying both instrumental and sensory assessments. Sun, Koltes, Coon, Chen, and Owens () found positive and significant correlations between compression force and the severity of WB condition (r = 0.79) in raw breast muscles, clearly incriminating the histological degeneration of muscle in its altered texture properties. Soglia et al.…”