Objectively Predicting Ultimate Quality of Post-Rigor Pork Musculature: I. Initial Comparison of Techniques

Abstract

A total of 290 pork loins were selected to include a wide variation of quality to investigate the quality categories into which most pork falls, selection criteria for these categories and methods to objectively assess ultimate pork quality. They were probed at 24 h postmortem (PM) for the following: A) light reflectance by Danish Meat Quality Marbling (MOM), Hennessy Grading Probe (HGP) and Sensoptic Invasive Probe (SIP); B) electrical properties by NWK LT-K21 conductivity (NLT) and Sensoptic Resistance Probe (SRP): and C) pH by NWK pH-K21 (NpH). Also, measurements of % drip loss (PDL) and filter paper wetness (FPW), color brightness (L*), ultimate pH (pHu), lipid content, subjective color ..