With regard to meat quality, the poultry industry has seen an increase in the occurrence
of Pale Soft and Exudative (PSE) meat over the past several years. PSE meat is the
result of accelerated postmortem glycolysis, which results in a rapid pH decline while
carcass temperatures are still high. Processors are concerned with the appearance of
PSE meat in fresh tray packs as the pale color can affect color uniformity within the
package. Although pale meat is still healthy, it is less pleasing to the customer. All
poultry meat looses moisture, but pale meat looses slightly more. Pale meat is estimated
to result in an annual loss of about $200 million for the U.S. broiler industry.