Expressible fluid measurements of broiler breast meat affected by emerging muscle abnormalities

Authors: YU, XIANG - Hubei University; FENG, YANLI - Hubei University; Bowker, Brian; Zhuang, Hong

Submitted to: LWT - Food Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/23/2020
Publication Date: 11/1/2020
Citation: Yu, X., Feng, Y., Bowker, B.C., Zhuang, H. 2020. Expressible fluid measurements of broiler breast meat affected by emerging muscle abnormalities. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 133: 110110, ISSN 0023-6438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2020.110110.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2020.110110

Interpretive Summary: Wooden breast (WB), white striping (WS), and spaghetti meat (SM) are emerging muscle defects in broiler breast fillets (pectoralis major). Meat affected by these defects show changes in not only visual appearance but also water-holding capacity (WHC) measured by moisture losses, compared with the meat with no myopathy. Water-holding capacity is defined as the ability of meat to hold its inherent and/or added moisture during processing and storage. It is a critical quality attribute closely related to economic value of meat. Several measurements have been used to estimate meat WHC, such as cooking loss, drip loss (or purge loss), thaw loss, salt-induced water gain, and expressible fluid. These measurements indicate different water properties in meat and provide useful information in applications. Among these indicators, expressible fluid (EF) provides an estimate of loosely-bound water in both extra- and intra-myofibrillar spaces as well as resistance of proteins in meat to the external pressure. Although the effects of myopathies on cook loss, drip loss, salt-induced water gain, and thaw loss have been evaluated, there is a lack of published reports on the effect of these three meat defects on WHC of broiler breast meat measured with the EF method. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the influence of these emerging meat quality defects (SM, WB, WS/WB) on WHC measured with EF method. Our data demonstrate that the emerging muscle myopathies spaghetti muscle and white striping do not affect WHC of broiler breast meat measured with the EF method. The emerging muscle myopathy, the woody breast condition, influences muscle water-holding and/or protein resistance to external force; however, the effect varies with the location in broiler breast fillets and meat cooking state.

Technical Abstract: Effects of emerging myopathies, spaghetti meat (SM), wooden breast (WB), and white striping/WB (WS/WB), were investigated on meat water-holding capacity (WHC) measured with expressible fluid (EF). Broiler breast meat (Pectoralis major) was collected from a commercial plant and sorted into normal (NORM), SM, WB, and WS/WB categories. The filter paper method was used to measure EF of fresh, frozen and cooked meat samples with myopathies. Ratio of the fluid area over total wet area was used to estimate EF. There were no differences in EF ratio between NORM and bone side of WB and WS/WB meat regardless of raw meat state and between NORM and SM meat regardless of SM location and meat state. There were no differences in EF ratio between NORM, SM, WB, WS/WB for cooked meat except for the samples from discolored area of cooked WB and WS/WB meat. Meat from skin side of WB and WS/WB showed greater (P < 0.05) EF values (> 4.01) than that of NORM (< 3.30). The EF values (< 3.89) from discolored area of cooked WB and WS/WB were lower than that of normal meat (5.01). The effects on WHC vary with myopathy and location in breast muscle.