FSIS reissues instructions for "Woody Breast" and "White Striping"
USA - The Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) has reissued its disposition instructions for the poultry meat quality issues known as "Woody Breast" and "White Striping"
7 August 2018
2 minute read
By: The notice issued by FSIS includes a detailed list of background information, responsibilites for how Public Health Veterinarians (PHVs), Inspectors-in-charge (IICs), Front Line Supervisors (FLSs) and Supervisory Consumer Safety Inspectors (SCSIs) ought to work with inspection programme personnel (IPP) to identify and verify that poultry processors are "removing trimmable inflammatory tissues that may be associated with these conditions."
It also includes images for these conditions to aid in their identification, including detailed descriptions.
Signs of inflammation associated with Woody Breast and White Striping include:
- Swollen breast tissues
- Scattered, small blood spots or patches on the surface of muscles, particularly near the top or shoulder end of the breast fillet
- Thick, often blood-stained fluid and signs of muscle deteriroration
The FSIS notice indicates that inflammtory tissues must be trimmed owing to their being unfit for human consumption, whereas tissues not exhibiting active inflammatory signs, i.e., White Striping only, are considered safe and do not necessarily need to be removed.
To learn more and to view the images, see the FSIS notice here
Ryan Johnson
Ryan worked in conservation from 2008 to 2017, during which time he operated a rainbow trout hatchery and helped to maintain public and protected green spaces in Canada for the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. As editor of The Poultry Site, he now writes about challenges and opportunities in agriculture across the globe.
