Research

My research started under my major professor in the Summer of 2016. The main research I have conducted concerns Wooden Breast, a quality issue being seen in breast fillets. Wooden Breast is a muscle myopathy found in the breast that causes the raw fillet to be hard to the touch with variations of hardness along the ventral area of the breast. This myopathy is popping up more frequently than ever due to the very quick growth of broilers to a 8-10 pound slaughter weight in today's poultry farms. This means that the quality of a large portion of chicken breast is significantly decreasing and getting sold at a lower price, leading to economic loss. Because this quality issue is still very new to the poultry industry, meat processors are still dealing with it on a daily basis with no solution.

My specific research (and my thesis for my masters program) is utilizing extended deboning times and storage periods of chicken breast to allow proteolytic enzymes to break down this tough tissue naturally. This process can help attack this major quality issue and save companies from huge economic losses.

In addition this work, I have also done research on the detection of fillets affected with this myopathy. As of right now, the only method for detecting breasts is line workers palpating them and making a quick decision. This is an extremely inconsistent and unregulated practice, so new tactics must be investigated to make Woody Breast detection a more practical process.