Classification of Broiler Breast Meat: Defining Red, Soft and Exudative Meat as a New Quality Class

This study aimed to describe a new broiler meat quality class—red, soft, and exudative (RSE) meat—and to propose novel classification criteria. Two-step cluster analysis assigned 132 broilers into five meat quality classes using ultimate pH, drip loss, and L* values: pale, soft, and exudative (PSE); pale, firm, and nonexudative (PFN); RSE; red, firm, and nonexudative (RFN); and dark, firm, and dry (DFD) meat. PSE meat showed the lowest plasma superoxide dismutase activity, highest malondialdehyde activity, greater live and carcass weights, higher breast and leg yields, the lowest initial and ultimate pH, highest initial temperature, the lightest colour (the highest L* and b* values, and the lowest a* value), and the greatest drip, thawing, and cooking losses. RFN meat had the highest superoxide dismutase activity, lowest malondialdehyde activity, and remained within the optimal range for ultimate pH, drip loss, and L* value, generally occupying a midpoint between PSE and DFD meat. RSE meat shared the poor water-holding capacity of PSE but differed by showing a colour similar to RFN and an optimal ultimate pH. PFN meat had firmness comparable to RFN, with appropriate water-holding capacity and optimal ultimate pH, but an undesirably pale colour resembling PSE. DFD meat displayed the highest initial and ultimate pH, lowest drip, thawing, and cooking losses, darkest colour (the lowest L* value), and lowest protein content. This study provides the first evidence of RSE meat in broilers and proposes a classification system based on ultimate pH, drip loss, and L* values to distinguish five quality classes. Further studies are required to validate these findings and develop preventive strategies.