visual defect in eoropean oak

[sculpturetim]

hi there woodworkers,
i have recently purchased some french oak for a table top i am building. once i had planed the through and through cut boards i noticed there were bleached areas of timber on the planed surface, it apears to run along the grain. the bleached areas look like sappwood in colour but are in the centre of the tree. they do not apear to be any softer than the surrounding heartwood but are a real visual defect as far as i am concerned. can anyone diagnose what this is ? photos have been attached.
I think it could be the signs of early decay of some kind of rot that has not sofened the timber yet.
I would like to return the wood to my supplier but am wanting to arm myself with the facts before i look to return the wood, the timber was bought at a high price to get prime quality material and personaly feel it is a visual defect and not an attractive natural feature, any thought or ideas?
thanks
tim

[TreeWizard]

I'd like to help but the attachments won't open for me.

[sculpturetim]

hi there tree wizard, thanks for your response
i tried to open them on my pc and they work for me, do you have any suggestions for me to upload them any differently.

[AlArchie]

Tim, they open fine for me, but I don't know what caused that. If you don't like the stuff, I'd see about returning it to the mill, and see what they have to say.

My guess would be that there was some change in the environment where that tree grew, and it looks like (from the growth rings) to be about a 7 to 10 year period. Maybe some of the surrounding forest was thinned, there was a change in the annual rainfall patterns, nutrient changes......cow pasture removal, or increase in pasture use, etc.

Whatever the cause, it surely is a cosmetic problem for the wood.

Al