Post-mortem changes in physicochemical quality, nutrients, and volatile compounds of white-feathered broiler breast meat during short-term storage: Implications for processing suitability

White-feathered broilers (WFB) are widely used in poultry production due to their rapid growth and high feed efficiency. However, there has been little research on short-term post-slaughter aging of white-feathered broiler chickens. This study aims to investigate changes in the physicochemical properties, nutritional composition, and volatile flavor compounds of white-feathered broiler chicken breast meat during storage at 4 °C and 25 °C for up to 12 hours.Drip loss remained relatively stable during the first 2 h post-mortem but increased markedly thereafter, reaching 29.6% at 4 °C and 32.7% at 25 °C after 12 h. Cooking loss peaked at 4 h (35.9%) under 4 °C and at 3 h (38.2%) under 25 °C before gradually declining. The transition to late rigor mortis (approximately 4 h post-mortem) was accompanied by a pronounced increase in shear force and a reduction in water-holding capacity(WHC), which adversely affected the quality of heat-processed products. The content of nutrients such as amino acids increases after post-mortem storage following slaughter, and this change is more pronounced at 25 degrees Celsius. In parallel, volatile aldehydes, particularly hexanal, accumulated over time, and elevated temperature promoted the development of off-flavors.Overall, aging at 4 °C for approximately 6 h achieved a desirable balance between texture and flavor for meatball processing, whereas aging at 25 °C for more than 8 h favored the formation of taste-active compounds suitable for soup production. These findings provide practical guidance for optimizing post-mortem handling and diversifying processing applications of broiler meat. • Post-mortem quality changes of WFB meat were evaluated at 4 °C and 25 °C. • Peak rigor at 4 h maximizes shear force and cooking loss, impairing suitability. • Short-term aging promoted nutrient accumulation, especially at 25 °C. • Aldehydes dominate the flavor profile and accumulate during post-mortem storage. • Storage regimes were proposed for meatball and bouillon processing.