Alterations in the Water Properties of Wooden Breast Fillets During the First 24 h Postmortem

The study aimed to examine changes in water properties of normal (N) and wooden breast (WB) broiler fillets during the initial 24 h postmortem. A total of 15 N breast fillets and 15 fillets exhibiting severe WB were collected across 3 independent replicates (5 fillets per condition per replicate). Immediately after electrical stunning and bleeding, the breast fillets were deboned and chilled on ice. Water properties, including time constant, proportion, and abundance per 100 g of meat, were assessed using time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance throughout the first 24 h postmortem. The effects of WB condition, postmortem time, and their interaction were evaluated using 2-way analysis of variance with repeated measures. Segmented linear regression was applied to determine slopes and inflection time points. Changes in 4 water populations were analyzed. During the first 3 h postmortem, the abundance of extramyofibrillar water with a greater relaxation time decreased (P < .05), the abundance of intramyofibrillar water increased (P < .05), and purge loss increased (P < .05) regardless of meat condition. Changes in the proportion and abundance of water populations were completed earlier in WB fillets compared to N fillets. WB fillets showed significantly greater purge loss (P < .05) compared to N fillets during the early postmortem phase, possibly attributable to reduced water-holding capacity associated with a greater abundance of extramyofibrillar water. Data suggest that differences in water property dynamics early postmortem may be responsible for inferior water-holding capacity in WB meat.