Use of image analysis to evaluate morphometric measurements of broiler breast fillets affected by the woody breast condition

• Published in: Journal of food science and technology Vol. 59; no. 11; pp. 4457 - 4465
• Main Authors: Sun, Xiao, Maynard, Clay J., Caldas-Cueva, Juan P., Bai, Yu, You, Jinjie, Dong, Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi Springer India 01.11.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Area; Breast; Cameras; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Compression; Fillets; Food; Food Science; Gene expression; Image analysis; Image processing; Methods; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Nutrition; Original; Original Article; Poultry; Thickness; Morphometric measurement; Fillet classification; Image analysis; Woody breast
• ISSN: 0022-1155; 0975-8402
• DOI: 10.1007/s13197-022-05525-x

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between morphometric measurements and woody breast (WB) severity in breast fillets using image processing as an objective detection method for WB. Breast fillets were collected and categorized as normal (NORM), mild (MILD), moderate (MOD), and severe (SEV). Compression force and energy increased as WB severity increased alongside a decrease in severity through fillet regions ( P  < 0.05). Length and caudal thickness were highest in SEV and MOD groups ( P  < 0.05), and cranial thickness increased as WB severity increased ( P  < 0.05). The aerial area was the smallest in NORM fillets, while the planar area increased from NORM to MOD ( P  < 0.05). Fillet curvatures were highest in SEV and MOD fillets ( P  < 0.05). All measured parameters expressed strong correlation to WB scores ( P  < 0.05) except width. The results from this study may provide a basis for further assessment of the potential incorporation of these measurements into vision grading systems that may allow processors to sort fillets by WB severity in commercial plants.