Today a disturbing picture started circulating on social media. It was shared by a woman who'd bought what she called fresh chicken from her local grocer only to be met by this sight after slicing it. But what is this green lump of chicken flesh and how did it get there?

Well, It happens when plump adult chickens get startled, and start to flap their wings suddenly. That causes a tear in their breast tissue that never properly heals.

We consulted a vet today via phone to find out what causes this scarred breast meat - and whether it poses any harm to you.

Voice of: Dr. Victor Gongora, President, Veterinary Assoc. of Belize
"The structure is not accustomed to a surge in blood flow and therefore sometimes that is trapped and this happens in chicken especially the broilers or chicken that are quite fat. Sudden increase in activity for example; the birds are used to their owners walking into the farm and the I go. They don't know me and I go in and I make noise, my phone rings and the birds get startled and they start to flap their wings and so that sudden increase in activity demands blood flow and so the blood gets trapped there, because of the sudden increase and trapped there and then with time it tends to turn different colors, so it may start from black, to pale yellow, green and then that pale green. There is no food safety risk. It is not an infectious process. And it's not chemical- it's not poisoning or something that is is causing this. But it happens when chickens are grown to a bigger weight and that's why some restaurant prefer to buy smaller chicken."

Gongora says you can simply slice out that piece of scarred tissue and eat the chicken breast just the same.

Channel 7