Project aims to make poultry myopathies profitable

Scientists at the University of Georgia hope to develop new ways to use poultry meat with muscle tissue defects like woody breast, white striping and spaghetti meat to reduce costly losses for the broiler industry.

Doughman Headshot3 Headshot
Andrea Gantz
Andrea Gantz

Scientists at the University of Georgia hope to develop new ways to use poultry meat with muscle tissue defects like woody breast, white striping and spaghetti meat to reduce costly losses for the broiler industry.

“If we can convert these myopathies into processed products, like sausages or hot dogs, we can get just as much value as a normal breast fillet,” explained Harshavardhan Thippareddi, the John Bekkers Professor of Poultry Science in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES).

“We are trying to optimize how much woody breast, spaghetti meat or white striping can be put into these kinds of sausages and still get a good, high-value product.”

The research is funded by a $300,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Muscle tissue defects

Three of the most common muscle tissue defects in broilers are white striping, woody breast and spaghetti meat, affecting up to 20% of breast meat.

Woody breast syndrome affects the rigidity, texture and mouth feel of breast meat fillets, while spaghetti meat separates the fiber bundles in the breast meat. White striping makes white striations appear in the breast meat.

Breast meat with any of these three myopathies is still nutritious, however because they affect the taste this meat is typically deemed inedible by processors.

“Right now, meat with muscle tissue defects is sent to rendering to be used as animal feed. When you do that, you could lose up to 90% of a breast fillet’s monetary value,” Thippareddi said.

“Money is only once aspect of it. When we dispose of a perfectly good breast fillet, the sustainability aspect comes into play as well.”

Retaining value

The research team plans to use the grant money to develop new high-value products, such as chicken sausages or all-chicken hot dogs, containing poultry meat with muscle tissue defects. They hope the end result will be appealing to consumers and more profitable for producers.

“Our goal is to figure out how much of meat with a muscle tissue defect can we put into a sausage before taste is affected,” Thippareddi added. “We want to create a high-value product that processors can easily replicate.”

Like what you just read? Sign up now for free to receive the Poultry Future Newsletter

Page 1 of 84
Next Page