An investigation of a reported case of white striping in broilers

Abstract

Market reports of white striping in broiler breast fillets have been increasing, which has generated concerns in the broiler meat industry regarding negative effects on consumer acceptance. This study was conducted to macro- and microscopically characterize the condition of white striping at varying degrees of severity on Cobb 500 broiler breast fillets slaughtered at 42 d of age. Carcasses of 2,512 broilers presenting white striping were slaughtered and macroscopically classified according to the degree of severity of the striations as moderate or severe; further histological microscopic evaluation demonstrated degenerative myopathy in both moderate and severe cases, but 75% of those breast fillets were classified as moderate. Typically, the samples classified macroscopically as moderate showed microscopic necrosis only (65.17%) or moderate multifocal necrosis (9.83%), whereas those classified as severe showed diffuse and strong necrosis (25.00%). The proliferation of connective tissue was not observed for either of the degrees of white striping investigated, characterizing this profile as an acute occurrence.