New vascular structure in broiler breast: breast-vessel

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Veterinary Pathology
• Food Science

Background:

• Intensive selection for rapid growth in chickens leads to breast meat abnormalities.
• Consumers perceive these alterations negatively, impacting marketability.
• A novel abnormality, colloquially termed "long and thin worm," has emerged.

Purpose of the Study:

• To macroscopically and microscopically characterize a newly observed abnormality in broiler breast meat.
• To provide a scientific description and proposed nomenclature for this finding.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 4 broiler breasts from a supermarket.
• A second experiment involving 120 chickens reared under simulated field conditions up to 42 days.
• Macroscopic and microscopic examination of pectoralis major muscle samples.

Main Results:

• Tubular structures were consistently found on the surface of the pectoralis major muscle.
• These structures were identified as arteries.
• This finding represents a previously undescribed occurrence in broiler breast meat.

Conclusions:

• The newly observed broiler breast feature is characterized by arterial structures.
• The proposed scientific term for this abnormality is "breast-vessel."
• Further research is needed to understand the implications of breast-vessel in broiler production.