Detection of razor shear force differences in broiler breast meat due to the woody breast condition depends on measurement technique and meat state

Authors: Bowker, Brian; Zhuang, Hong

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/15/2019
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: For the purposes of both research and quality assurance in the poultry industry, there is an interest in establishing objective criteria to characterize the influence of the woody breast myopathy on the texture attributes of chicken breast meat. This study demonstrated that the woody breast myopathy influences instrumental razor blade shear measurements in raw breast fillets, but suggests that the ability to detect texture differences in cooked woody breast meat is dependent upon the specific razor shear technique used.

Technical Abstract: Broiler breast meat with the woody breast (WB) myopathy exhibits abnormal tissue hardness and muscle rigidity in the raw state. The effectiveness of using instrumental shear measurements to characterize texture in WB fillets before and after cooking is not well understood. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of WB on razor shear force measurements in fresh never-frozen and frozen-thawed broiler breast fillets in both the raw and cooked state. Deboned breast fillets (n = 234) were collected from a commercial processing plant and categorized as normal (n = 78), moderate WB (n = 86), or severe WB (n = 70). At 24 h postmortem fillets were either used for texture analysis directly or frozen-thawed prior to analysis. Each fillet was measured before and after cooking using either the blunt blade (BMORS) or sharpened blade (MORS) versions of the Meullenet-Owens razor shear test. The ability of BMORS to distinguish between normal and WB fillets was different between raw and cooked fillets. In both fresh and frozen-thawed fillets, raw BMORS shear values (peak shear force and shear energy) increased (P < 0.0001) with WB severity. In fresh fillets, cooked BMORS values were similar between normal, moderate WB, and severe WB fillets. In frozen-thawed fillets, cooked BMORS values were greater (P < 0.001) in severe WB compared to normal fillets but were similar between normal and moderate WB fillets. Cooking had less impact on the ability of MORS to distinguish between normal and WB fillets. For both fresh and frozen-thawed fillets, MORS shear values (peak shear force and shear energy) were greater (P < 0.05) in WB fillets than normals in both the raw and cooked states. Data from this study demonstrate that the WB myopathy influences razor shear measurements in raw broiler breast fillets, but suggest that the ability to objectively detect texture differences in cooked WB meat is strongly dependent upon razor shear technique.