Incidence of White Striping and Its Effect on the Quality Traits of Raw and Processed Turkey Breast Meat

The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence of white striping abnormality and its consequences on the quality traits of raw and processed turkey breast (chemical composition, color traits, and water holding capacity). In total, about 2300 breasts from 22 flocks were used to assess the incidence and 60 breasts to evaluate the quality traits. Our study showed that the total incidence of moderate and severe white striping was 61.3% out of them, moderate cases were 49.4%. Severe white striped turkey breast exhibited significantly lower protein content (21.1 vs. 23.2 and 23.16%, p<0.05) and higher fat content (2.3 vs. 0.77 and 1.76%, p<0.05) if compared to normal and moderate white striped breast respectively. Moreover, moderate and severe white striped meat showed significantly higher redness (a*) (2.98 and 3.14 vs. 1.48, p<0.05) and yellowness (b*) indexes (7.27 and 7.95 vs. 4.05, p<0.05) than normal meat, respectively.