Preferred Abstract (Original):
During the past few decades there has been a notable increase in the demand for
poultry meat due to its low cost, good nutritional profile and suitability for further
processing. Moreover, current forecasts and projection studies have predicted that the
expansion of the poultry market will continue in the future. This growing demand has
led to progressive improvements in genetic selection to produce fast-growing broilers,
inducing the appearance of several spontaneous, idiopathic muscle abnormalities
along with an increased susceptibility to stress-induced myopathy. Such muscle
abnormalities have several implications for the quality of fresh and processed
products, as breast meat that is affected by deep pectoral myopathy is usually
rejected due to its unacceptable appearance. In addition, pale, soft and exudative
like meat has a low processing ability due to its reduced water holding capacity, soft
texture and pale colour. Finally, the high incidence of abnormalities observed in
chicken breast muscles such as white striping (characterised by superficial white
striations) and wooden breast (characterised by pale and bulging areas of
substantial hardness) impair both the appearance and technological traits of breast
meat. This review evaluates the consequences of genetic selection on muscle traits and
describes the relevance of major breast abnormalities on nutritional, technological,
sensorial and microbial characteristics of raw and processed meat.