In Irving, Texas, a mother preparing dinner received an unexpected shock when the chicken she was washing transformed into stringy pieces resembling spaghetti. Although pasta wasn’t on the evening’s menu, she felt compelled to share her bewildering discovery on social media. Alesia Cooper, a mother of two, shared a disturbing photo of the chicken breast falling apart in her hands, captioning it: “I’ve been debating on posting this, but since I had to see it, so do you all.” She recounted how she had been cleaning the meat as usual when it unexpectedly disintegrated.

Cooper mentioned she had purchased the chicken breast from Aldi, a budget supermarket, and jokingly speculated, “lol I think it’s that fake meat, but I’m not sure. Anyway… I haven’t made chicken off the bone since.”

Online users offered various theories, with some suggesting the chicken might be 3D printed or lab-grown. Others attributed it to genetic modification or the use of growth hormones in chicken production to achieve larger breasts, resulting in unusual textures like “woody breast” or “spaghetti meat.”

While the phenomenon might not pose immediate health risks to consumers, concerns were voiced about the welfare of chickens raised in the industry, which is geared towards rapid growth to meet demand for white meat products like chicken nuggets and sandwiches.

Some online commenters expressed disgust over the stringy chicken, leading to discussions about alternative meat sources, such as locally sourced and humanely raised options. Others considered transitioning to vegetarian or vegan diets in light of concerns about factory farming practices and animal welfare.