Radiofrequency Method for Rapid Detection of Woody Breast in Chicken Breast Fillets

Increasing global demand in poultry meat and poultry meat products prompted the broiler industry to use genetic selection and improved feeding practices to achieve significant gains in broiler size and growth rate. However, fast-growing and heavier weight broilers induced myopathies such as woody breast (WB), which affect the meat quality and cause significant economic losses. A radiofrequency method based on measurement of the dielectric properties at microwave frequencies was developed for rapid and nondestructive detection of woody breast disorder found in chicken breast meat. Dielectric measurements were performed with an open-ended coaxial probe connected to PNL-N5235B vector network analyzer for normal and defective (WB) fresh chicken breast meat for frequencies ranging from 200 MHz to 20 GHz and a meat temperature of about 7 °C. Spectra obtained for the normal and severe WB chicken breast show similar trends with frequency, with values of dielectric properties slightly higher for the WB chicken breast meat. At a given frequency (500 MHz), there exists correlations between the dielectric properties and composition of chicken breast meat (water content and protein content) that can be used to discern between normal and fillets with severe WB. Results show potential for rapid and systematic detection of the woody breast condition from measurement of the dielectric properties at a single microwave frequency.