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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #394959
Research Project: Assessment of Quality Attributes of Poultry Products, Grain, Seed, Nuts, and Feed

Location: Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit

Title: Quality defects associated with poultry muscle development: spaghetti meat

Author
item TASONIERO, GIULIA - Orise Fellow
item Bowker, Brian

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/13/2022
Publication Date: 12/6/2022
Citation: Tasoniero, G., Bowker, B. 2022. Quality defects associated with poultry muscle development: spaghetti meat. In: Petracci, M., Estevez, M., editors. Improving Poultry Meat Quality. Cambridge, UK: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing Limited. p. 319-341.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Spaghetti meat (SM) is a recently recognized myopathy that occurs in the Pectoralis major of modern fast-growing broilers. The SM abnormality is characterized by loss of muscle structural integrity and loosely separated muscle fibers and bundles. This condition causes significant economic losses to the industry due to the affected breast meat being downgraded. There is a growing body of research on various aspects of SM; however, the specific cause for SM is not fully understood. This chapter seeks to provide an overview of what is currently known about the SM myopathy and describes the influence of the SM myopathy on breast meat composition and quality traits as well as potential pathological mechanisms and predisposing factors for the myopathy.