Differences in meat colour between free-range Swallow Belly Mangalitsa and commercially reared Swedish Landrace pigs during 6 days of vacuum storage

Nikola Stanišić,Nenad Parunović,Slaviša Stajić,Dušan Živković,Čedomir Radović,Maja Petričević,Milica Petrović

doi:10.5194/aab-59-159-2016

Abstract

Abstract. The influence of storage on meat colour differences between free-range Swallow Belly Mangalitsa (MA, n = 19) and commercially reared Swedish Landrace (SL, n = 17) pigs, are investigated in the present study. Proximate composition analyses were done on fresh samples of M. longissimus thoracis (LT) and M. gluteus medius (GM), while pH values and colour quality attributes were determined on fresh cuts of the muscles (day 1) and after 3 and 6 days of vacuum storage at 4 ± 1 °C. MA pork had a significantly higher share of intramuscular fat, a darker colour, a higher deoxymyoglobin (Mb) content and oxy ∕ met (oxymyoglobin ∕ metmyoglobin) ratio, higher pH24 h values and a slower pH decline compared to the control SL group (P < 0.05). Greater changes in myoglobin forms during storage were observed in MA pork, which were reflected in a significant decrease in the content of Mb and an increase in the oxy ∕ met ratio (P < 0.05).After 6 days of vacuum storage, higher pH6d values, a lower metmyoglobin (MetMb) content and a higher oxy ∕ met ratio of MA pork lead to the conclusion that aged meat from free-range Swallow Belly Mangalitsa pigs had better colour quality compared to Swedish Landrace pigs.

Highlights

The discoloration of fresh meat, one of the most important concerns in the pork industry, is determined by the relative concentration of the three redox forms of myoglobin: deoxymyoglobin (Mb), oxymyoglobin (MbO2) and metmyoglobin (MetMb) (Ledward, 1992)
Proximate composition analyses were done on fresh samples of M. longissimus thoracis (LT) and M. gluteus medius (GM), while pH values and colour quality attributes were determined on fresh cuts of the muscles and after 3 and 6 days of vacuum storage at 4 ± 1 ◦C
The pH of Longissimus dorsi (LD) and GM muscles was significantly higher in MA pigs than SL pigs (P < 0.05 for LT; P < 0.01 for GM)

Summary

Introduction

The discoloration of fresh meat, one of the most important concerns in the pork industry, is determined by the relative concentration of the three redox forms of myoglobin: deoxymyoglobin (Mb), oxymyoglobin (MbO2) and metmyoglobin (MetMb) (Ledward, 1992). The colour of pork measured 24 h post mortem is commonly included in research, but colour stability during storage is less frequently studied. Storage of pork post mortem is reported to influence the colour (Schluter et al, 1994; Apple et al, 2001, 2002; Rosenvold and Andersen, 2003; Frederick et al, 2004) and the ability of pork to bloom (Zhu et al, 2001). The majority of studies investigating the effects of storage and pH on pork colour have been focused on modern meat-type breeds of pigs (Edwards et al, 2003; Brewer et al, 2004) that are reared in an intensive pig farming system, which is considered to compromise the welfare of the pigs (Barton-Gade, 2002).

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