Abstract
We examined the effects of pre-slaughter short-term factors including season of the year, duration of transportation and lairage time, as well as sex of pigs, on pork quality. Meat samples were collected from 590 pigs (females, entire and castrated males) that were slaughtered in a commercial abattoir in Greece over a 15-month period. Meat quality parameters pH, colour, drip loss, cooking loss, Warner–Bratzler shear values and sarcomere length were measured on the longissimus dorsi. DNA was isolated from blood samples and the frequency of the recessive halothane gene mutation HALn was determined. The results demonstrated that pork quality with respect to pH and L* values was normal in 93.9% of the samples, with 5.1% of samples classified as PSE (pale, soft and exudative) and 1.0% as DFD (dark, firm and dry). Duration of transportation was critical: brief and long transfers had the ability to impair meat quality. A lairage time of 2–4 h before slaughter was adequate when the pigs were free of HALn and the climatic conditions were not extreme. Season of the year was a very important factor, with significant variations recorded in meat-quality parameters between winter and summer months. Finally, the sex of the animals was responsible for differences in meat quality, but these differences were small and unlikely to be identified by the consumers.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.