impact of coccidiosis control program and feeding plan on white striping prevalence and severity degree on broiler breast fillets evaluated at three growing ages

Abstract This study investigated the impact of 2 coccidiosis control systems (vaccine vs anticoccidial) and 2 feeding plans (standard energy vs low energy content, the latter supplemented with threonine and enzymes in the second half of the production cycle) on white striping (WS) prevalence and severity in chicken broiler breasts at commercial slaughter age (51 d). The age of lesion onset was also investigated with the sacrifice of 80 chicks at 12, and 80 chicks at 25 d of age. Seven hundred and twenty ROSS 708 strain male chicks were divided into 4 groups: a non-vaccinated group fed with standard diet (CONTROL); two groups vaccinated against coccidiosis but fed either a standard diet (VACC) or a low-energy diet supplemented with threonine and enzymes (VACC–LE plus); and a fourth group fed a standard diet containing anticoccidial additive except during the finishing period (COX). After live performance, yields, and fillet pH were measured, the breasts were weighed and scored as level 0 (no WS), level 1 (moderate WS), and level 2 (severe WS) at each of the 3 ages; data were covariate for slaughter weight. The results suggest an ameliorative effect of coccidiosis control systems when compared to the control group in terms of live weight, breast yield, and whole breast weight, with heavier fillets characterized by higher pH values. WS appeared at 25 d of age with an average prevalence of 11.5% and with lesions of moderate severity. There were no statistically significant differences due to the experimental treatment at this age. At commercial slaughter age, total average prevalence was 96%, with COX birds showing higher level 2 prevalence (77.6%). This could be related to the higher slaughter weight reached by the COX group (

Technological quality, mineral profile, and sensory attributes of broiler chicken breasts affected by White Striping and Wooden Breast myopathies.

ABSTRACT The aim of the research was to study the impact of white striping and wooden breast myopathies on the technological quality, mineral, and sensory profile of poultry meat. With this purpose, a total of 138 breasts were selected for a control group with normal breasts (N), a group of breasts characterised by white striping (WS) myopathy, and a group of breasts having both white striping and wooden breast myopathies (WSWB). Data revealed that the simultaneous presence of the two myopathies, with respect to the WS lesion individually considered, had a further detrimental effect on pH (6.04 vs. 5.96;

Effects of cooking on lipid content and fatty acids profile of Meagre (Argyrosomus regius) fillets during the first three days of storage.

Despite its high qualitative intrinsic traits, farmed meagre (Argyrosomus regius) is still a niche species, very little known to European consumers. Fish fatty acids (FA) profile is characterized by moderately high C20:5 (EPA) and C22:6 (DHA) \u3c9-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) contents, having beneficial effects on human health. Storage and cooking process can cause lipid loss, enough to modify raw fish nutritional content. Aim of this study was to describe the effect of cooking on lipid content and on FA profile of meagre during the first 3 days of storage (1\ub0C). Fish (n. 72) were sampled from cage and tank in the farm \u201cIl Vigneto\u201d (Grosseto, Italy), analyzing 6 fish from cage and tank per day. Left and right fillets were analyzed raw and steam cooked (10 min), respectively. Total lipids content and FA profile were determined. Data were analysed by PROC GLM procedure including fish weight, rearing method, sampling date, storage day and the interaction (rearing method x storage day) in the model. Fillets showed a low lipid content (2.59%). During storage cooking yields decreased (96.5 to 94.9%; p<0.05) whereas lipids and FA true retention (%TR) did not show a significant decrease. PUFA %TR ranged from 98.9 to 91.0%, without showing a significant decrease for both \u3c9-6 and \u3c9-3 FA groups, however. Among \u3c9-3 fatty acids, DHA showed the highest average %TR (97.58% at the 3rd day). Steam cooking did not seem to affect the lipid content and FA profile of meagre in the first 3 days of storage. Since any losses of lipid and fatty acid contents can be important for a lean fish, as the meagre is, further researches should be directed to individuate conditions of cooking with lower impacts in the nutritional quality of flesh

Are meat quality traits and sensory attributes in favor of slow-growing chickens?

The present study compared certain quality features and sensory attributes of the meat obtained from three different chicken genotypes: two endangered slow-growing indigenous breeds (Padovana: PAD, Polverara: POL) and a commercial broiler (Hybrid). Chickens (n = 42/genotype) were slaughtered at their commercial slaughter age: 183 days for PAD and POL chickens, and 35 days for the Hybrid. Breast and leg meat were dissected and used for qualitative evaluations. Results highlighted that genotype significantly affected final breast weight, with Hybrid showing higher values than both indigenous chickens. Conversely, PAD and POL meat was instrumentally tougher and richer in haem iron compared to the Hybrid. The sensory analysis conducted by a trained panel showed that the textural aspects and metallic flavor perception of PAD and POL meat differed from that of the Hybrid. These aspects were probably responsible for the lower overall acceptability of the PAD and POL meat compared to the Hybrid, as expressed by the consumer panel. A key step in making PAD and POL meat acceptable to consumers and stimulating its market seems thus the development of appropriate marketing strategies to transform product peculiarities in strength points

Effect of \u201cWooden Breast\u201d appearance on poultry meat quality, histological traits and lesions characterization

The purposes of the study were to investigate the effects of Wooden Breast (WB) myodegeneration on poultry meat quality and to give a contribution in typing lesions morphology. At a poultry meat cutting facility, 30 normal (N) and 30 affected (WB) breast fillets (Pectoralis major) were selected. Weight, cross sectional area (CSA), pH, L*a*b* colour values, water-holding capacity and Warner-Bratzler shear force were determined. Samples were also visually and histologically evaluated. Affected samples were heavier, thicker, paler (P<0.001) and characterized by palpatory hardness and lower water holding capacity (P<0.05). Macroscopically, abnormalities were primarily localized in the cranial portion of the fillet and defined by the presence of bulges, petechiae, fluid and clear exudate and higher pH. Microscopically, the WB condition was characterized by cells with greater CSA (P<0.001) and higher giant fibres prevalence (P<0.01). Data suggest a relationship between breast weight and WB condition

Insorgenza e prevalenza di \u201cWhite striping\u201d in broiler pesanti sottoposti a diversi programmi di controllo della coccidiosi

White striping (WS) is a muscle alteration characterized by the presence of white striations parallel to the direction of muscle fibers that affects poultry meat. To evaluate the age of WS onset in broiler chickens, and the effect of diet and different coccidiosis control programs on WS prevalence an experimental study was conducted on 180 chickens. One-day-old chicks were randomly divided into four experimental treatments: control, coccidiostat, vaccinated, and vaccinated fed with a low energy diet. Twenty animals per treatment were sacrifi ced at 12 and 25 days of age, breasts were scored for WS (0=absence, 1=mild, 2=severe) and a sample of each breast was collected for histology. The remaining chickens were slaughtered at 51 days of age and breasts were scored for WS. WS appearance was detected grossly only at 25 and 51 days, but histological lesion were present since 12 days of age. At 51 days the WS prevalence was above 90% in all groups, no differences were found between the two different diets, but a signifi cantly higher prevalence of score 2 was present in the Coccidiostat group vs others (P<0.001), suggesting a coccidiostat effect on WS appearance