Disease found in 99% of chicken fillets in Polish supermarkets

Polish branch Otwarte Klatki has carried out an investigation revealing the presence of the condition called “white stripes disease” in chicken meat in the most popular supermarkets in Poland.

The findings are worrying: according to the investigation, more than 99% of the chicken breast packages examined showed the presence of the disease. White stripes disease has been shown to be a life-threatening and distressing disorder. The condition is found on the outside of the pectoralis major muscle. It is visible as white striations parallel to the muscle fibres (Petracci et al., 2013). These striations turn out to be adipose (fatty) tissue (Bailey et al., 2015). Even though the cause of the condition is unclear, several studies have suggested that its pathogenesis (like that of wood-chest condition) is associated with several biological processes, such as localised hypoxia in muscle, oxidative stress, increased intracellular calcium accumulation (Zambonelli et al., 2016; Abasht et al., 2016; Mutryn et al., 2015).

Standard breeds of chickens raised in the livestock industry are known for their rapid growth – these birds are typically killed at just 42 days, and in that short time they develop abnormally large breast muscles that can be turned into one of the meat industry’s most popular products: chicken breast fillets. Genetic selection has allowed this muscle to grow to an abnormal size, bringing profits to the industry and tragic consequences for chickens. They commonly struggle with lameness (which means a lifetime of chronic pain) and various disorders such as white stripes disease. The quality of the meat affected by this particular disease has been found to be lower, but that doesn’t stop companies from selling this product to their customers. However, the symptoms can be easily spotted but are often unknown to buyers.

White Stripes Disease 

The Polish investigation analysed private label chicken breast fillets at 5 major retailers: Aldi, Biedronka, Lidl, Kaufland and Netto. The findings of the investigation are worrying and the current practices in factory farms should be reported, not only because of the suffering they cause to the animals, but also because of the low quality of food offered to consumers who decide to buy chicken meat.

Examples of moderate (1) and severe (2) white stripes can be found below.

Primary Conclusions

In 99.1% of products containing chicken breast fillets, marketed under supermarket own-label brands, signs of the ‘white stripe’ condition were found.

1

The most common stage of the disease was severe, with 34.6% of fillets classified at level 3, indicating the presence of pronounced white stripes.

2

In the case of two stores, Kaufland and Netto, all chicken fillets on the shelves (100%) showed this condition. Only 7 out of 751 packages analysed were found to be free of ‘white stripes.

3

Scientific evidence suggests that white stripe disease is found in 50-90% of chicken breasts in general. Its presence reduces the nutritional value of chicken meat by increasing fat content, decreasing protein levels and lowering protein quality through higher collagen content. White striped meat is also reported to be inferior to normal meat in texture and taste qualities. The scientifically proven causes of white stripes disease are largely the genetics of fast-growing chickens and the poor living conditions they struggle to endure.

Rapid growth can cause these birds to suffer severe gait problems, live in chronic pain from debilitating lameness, and sometimes even die from heart attacks as their internal organs fail to maintain the overwhelming weight. It also leads to various pathologies in the muscles, such as white stripes disease. In terms of living conditions, birds spend their lives crammed into a single shelter of tens of thousands, unable to roam freely or fulfill the most basic needs of perching or pecking. As a result, they spend most of their time stationary and apathetic, and this in turn adds to their health problems.

What is the advocated solution?

Over 550 companies worldwide have already turned their backs on these cruel practices by signing up to the European Chicken Commitment. It’s a policy of new science-backed standards that significantly improve the life of chickens raised for meat. The most important requirement is the adoption of breeds with slower and more balanced growth rates. As described above, this would reduce the severity of the health problems that currently occur on a large scale in intensive factory farming and also improve the quality of the products that stores and food manufacturers claim to care about.

Surse

• Bailey, R. A., Watson, K. A., Bilgili, S. F., & Avendano, S. (2015). The genetic basis of pectoralis major myopathies in modern broiler chicken lines. Poultry Science, 94(12), 2870-2879.
• Mutryn, M. F., Brannick, E. M., Fu, W., Lee, W. R., & Abasht, B. (2015). Characterization of a novel chicken muscle disorder through differential gene expression and pathway analysis using RNA-sequencing. BMC genomics, 16, 1-19.
• Petracci, M., Mudalal, S., Bonfiglio, A., & Cavani, C. (2013). Occurrence of white striping under commercial conditions and its impact on breast meat quality in broiler chickens. Poultry Science, 92(6), 1670-1675
• Zambonelli, P., Zappaterra, M., Soglia, F., Petracci, M., Sirri, F., Cavani, C., & Davoli, R. (2016). Detection of differentially expressed genes in broiler pectoralis major muscle affected by White Striping–Wooden Breast myopathies. Poultry science, 95(12), 2771-2785.
• Abasht, B., Mutryn, M. F., Michalek, R. D., & Lee, W. R. (2016). Oxidative stress and metabolic perturbations in wooden breast disorder in chickens. PloS one, 11(4), e0153750.
• Informațiile din acest articol au fost preluate aproximativ în întregime și traduse din engleză în română – Disease found in 99% of Polish supermarket chicken fillets. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://animainternational.org/blog/disease-found-in-99-percent-of-polish-supermarket-chicken-fillets