A serious problem in the chicken industry may have a relatively simple solution.

Chicken processors can and should use wooden breast meat to make fresh and cooked sausages. New research shows that-even if only heavily lignified breast meat is used-grinding and processing lignified meat will make fresh and cooked sausages and hot dogs no different from those made in the normal way.

Woody brisket does not lose value, but can create new value in a product that costs $3 to $4 per pound.

At the recent American Poultry and Egg Industry Poultry Processing Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee, Dr. Harshavardhan Thippereddi, a professor of poultry science in the Department of Poultry Science at the University of Georgia, talked about the best use of meat that exhibits myopathy. He will deliver a speech on November 16, 2021.

These conditions, such as woody breast meat, white stripes, pasta meat, and tender syndrome, are an ongoing problem in the chicken industry. They remove important value due to related meat quality issues. The reasons for these conditions are not yet clear, but some agree that modern broiler genetics is conducive to feed conversion to cause these syndromes.

Compared with ordinary meat, woody breast meat has higher water, fat and collagen content, while muscle protein content is lower. Functionally, it absorbs and retains less marinade and causes color problems in the final product. In the mouth, the texture is different from ordinary meat.

Tiparedi said that new research shows that crushed products such as sausages, hot dogs and patties are the best use for woody breast meat. Through grinding, chopping and mixing, woody breast meat and other ingredients—salt and phosphate—create a new product without texture and function issues.

Sausages and hot dogs are especially valuable because processors can use the chicken fat that is deboned and chopped, otherwise the fat will enter the refinery at 6 cents per pound. This makes 100% chicken products potentially useful in situations where processors are trying to take advantage of antibiotic-free or antibiotic-free planting programs. He said that usually, chicken is just another ingredient in hot dogs and sausages. When fat is added to chicken sausages, it sometimes comes from pork or beef.

Although 100% chicken hot dogs are not a particularly demanding product, they do attract overseas consumers who do not eat pork or beef due to religious dietary standards. In addition, processed wooden breast meat can be used in canned products used in undernourished areas in developing countries.

Austin Alonzo is the editor of WATT PoultryUSA. www.wattglobalmedia.com/contact-us