Abstract
The morphofunctional characterisation of the Biceps femoris muscle was studied in 128 pigs intended for use as Parma ham, as a means of evaluating the raw material in relation to its transformation into a seasoned product answering to the requirements of its trademark. Organoleptic tests were carried out on both fresh and seasoned product, and the seasoned product was chemically characterised. The following defects in fresh hams—muscle which was pale in colour and of unsatisfactory firmness, insufficent compactness, poor thickness of fat cover layer—were found to be strongly correlated to the increase in white fibres of the IIa type; no links were found, however, between the measurement of myofibre diameters and these defects. Principal component analysis, applied to the complete set of histoenzymatic and organoleptic variables considered, reveals the qualitative characteristics of seasoned ham as having no close correlation with the histoenzymatic parameters of the fresh product; the authors nevertheless hope that myotypological examination will become one of the parameters in the evaluation of meat quality.
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