Influence of growth rate on occurrences of pale muscle in broilers

Pale broiler breast meat is a defect in commercial production operations. The incidence of pale broiler breast meat was examined in two commercial processing plants which had average growth rates of 59 g day(-1) and 46 g day(-1) and final average weights of 3.36 kg and 1.93 kg. Color measurements of dorsal and ventral surfaces and pH were completed to evaluate the impact of selection for growth on meat water-holding capacity.

L* greater than 60 were observed in 57% of broilers selected for greater yield and 26% of slower growing broilers. Average L* between 10 growers was significantly different (P = 0.001). Pearson's correlation coefficients for pH and L* were - 0.51 and - 0.27 for the faster growing broilers and slower growing broilers, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficients between water-holding capacity and L* and pH was - 0.35 and 0.42, respectively. There was a higher correlation between production factors (age, weight and grower) and a* and b* than L* for ventral surface measurements.

Breasts from broilers selected for faster growth tend to have lighter color. Weak correlation with water-holding capacity suggests that quality remains the same and light color is probably related to other factors.