Quiz 5 - Woody Breast

Wooden breast and white striping myopathies in poultry are the striations that run parallel to the muscle fibers in poultry breast, thigh, and tenders muscle in broiler chickens. These striations lead to a firmer breast that is undesirable to the consumer. There are many ideas as to the cause of woody breast in poultry meat however many are unproven and therefore woody breast (Kuttappan, 2016). The consumer perception associated with a brand is very important here, as consumers now have experienced woody breasts from your company will be more inclined to go with a different brand to avoid woody breast. Therefore, you are losing money.

Woody breast and striping myopathies also have an effect on marination uptake and retention. As the severity of woody breast and striping myopathies increase, the marinade uptake and retention decreases (Tiajare and others, 2016). This has huge effects on flavor, texture, and overall economic gain on products. Without absorbing the marinade, the yield does not increase and there is money lost.

Kuttappan, V. A., Hargis, B. M., & Owens, C. M. (2016). White striping and woody breast myopathies in the modern poultry industry: A review. Poultry Science, 95(11), 2724-2733. doi:10.3382/ps/pew216

Tijare, V. V., Yang, F. L., Kuttappan, V. A., Alvarado, C. Z., Coon, C. N., & Owens, C. M. (2016). Meat quality of broiler breast fillets with white striping and woody breast muscle myopathies. Poultry Science, 95(9), 2167-2173. doi:10.3382/ps/pew129