Woody breast

Woody breast is an abnormal muscle condition that impacts the texture and usability of chicken breast meat. The affected meat is described as tough, chewy, and gummy due to stiff or hardened muscle fibers that spread through the filet. The specific cause is not known but may be related to factors associated with rapid growth rates. Companies often use a three-point scale to grade the woodiness of a particular breast. Although distasteful to many, meat that exhibits woody breast is not known to be harmful to humans who consume it. When detected by suppliers, product shown to have the condition present may be discounted or processed as ground chicken. Woody breast has become so prevalent in the broiler industry that the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association has helped fund four research projects with over $250,000 in an effort to understand and address the condition. Estimates placed the total cost to the global industry as high as US$1 billion in 2020 for losses associated with managing the woody breast condition in broiler chickens.

There are urgent needs in the global poultry industry for rapid detection and sorting of product with woody breast using nondestructive methods. Current detection technologies include hyperspectral imaging, accelerometers, and bio-electrical impedance.