Nutritional value and quality of poultry meat affected by white striping, wooden breast and spaghetti meat myopathies

The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of white striping (WS), wooden breasts (WB), and spaghetti meat (SM), on p. major meat quality traits, chemical and fatty acid composition, and mineral content. Abnormal breasts were obtained at commercial slaughtering (41 d of age) at the end of an experimental trial in which 576 one-day-old chicks (Ross 308) were allocated to 36 pens according to a 3×2×2 experimental arrangement encompassing three C. vulgaris dietary inclusion levels (0%, 3%, and 6% replacing equal quantities of soybean meal), two-room temperature conditions (heat stress, i.e. 28°C vs. thermoneutral conditions), and two sexes. At the macroscopic evaluation, the breasts of 180 carcasses were classified into one out of four classes: normal (85 samples), WS (46 samples), WB (16 samples), or SM (33 samples). The presence of myopathies did not affect breast meat pH and L* values (P>0.05), whereas the a* index was lower in WB breasts compared to WS, SM, and normal breasts (P<0.05), and b* index lower in WB than WS meat (P<0.05). Compared with normal meat, cooking losses in WB samples were higher (P<0.01), whereas compared to WS meat they exhibited higher shear force (P<0.01). As for oxidation, no significant changes were found in MDA and carbonyl contents between the different groups (P>0.05) as it was for moisture, fat, and ash content. Differently WB meat showed lower (P<0.001) protein content (19.9%) compared to the other samples (21.9% in normal, 21.5% in WS, and 21.7% in SM). The presence of WS had a minor impact on the fatty acid composition of the muscle, resulting in a lower content of linoleic acid compared to WB meat (P<0.05) and a higher amount of α-linolenic acid compared to normal meat (P<0.01). WB meat exhibited a higher amount of linoleic acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), n-6 PUFA, and total PUFA (P<0.05) compared to normal and SM meat, whereas, C18:3 n-6 differed only between WB and normal breasts being higher in the abnormal breasts (P<0.01). The presence of WS, WB, and SM did not affect the amino acid composition and mineral content of breast meat (P>0.05). In conclusion, the presence of WB impaired meat quality, protein content, and fatty acid composition to a greater extent than the presence of WS and SM. Acknowledgement: The authors are grateful to DeMYO project (European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the MSCA grant agreement No 101063055).