Acceptability Of Pork Research Articles

Use of linear regression and partial least square regression to predict intramuscular fat of pig loin computed tomography images

The intramuscular fat (IMF) content is related to the sensory acceptability of pork, and it can be non-destructively estimated using computed tomography (CT). The aim of this paper is to evaluate the potential use of ordinary linear regression (OLR) of the relative volumes associated with ranges of Hounsfield (HU) values and partial least square (PLS) regression applied to the relative volumes associated with each individual HU value to predict the IMF content using data from one or two different tomograms. The tomograms were obtained from pork loins, and the relative volume associated with each HU value was calculated. The IMF was measured in the loins using a near infrared transmittance device. The best prediction of IMF was obtained by OLR when data from 2 tomograms were used (R2=0.83 and RMSEPCV=0.46%). The results suggest that CT has good potential for measuring the IMF in loins and that the accuracy improves when the data from 2 tomograms were combined. The use of partial volumes as predictors with OLR allows for improved accuracy compared to the use of all of the individual volumes with PLS.

Do all the consumers accept marbling in the same way? The relationship between eating and visual acceptability of pork with different intramuscular fat content

Several reports show that intramuscular fat (IMF) and/or marbling affect the sensory acceptability of meat. The aim of the present work was to (1) investigate using Spanish consumers the eating and visual acceptability of pork with different levels of IMF, (2) understand more about this acceptability by studying segments of consumers and (3) determine which fresh pork characteristics are important at the point of purchase. Loin section (n=40) were sorted into four IMF groups: 0.96±0.30% (G1), 2.11±0.07% (G2), 3.72±0.26% (G3), and 5.78±0.19% (G4). Consumers (n=200) evaluated the acceptability, tenderness and juiciness of cooked loin chops from each IMF group and then ranked raw chops according to visual preference. Two groups of consumers — ‘lean loin lovers’ (55.5%) and ‘marbled loin lovers’ (44.5%) — were identified based on their visual preferences; however, according to their eating acceptability scores, all the consumers preferred loins with higher IMF levels. Accordingly, the minimum IMF content recommended to ensure a good taste is between 2.2% and 3.4%.

Impact of consumer's sensitivity to androstenone on acceptability of meat from entire male pigs in three European countries: France, Spain and United Kingdom

The aim of this work was to study consumers' acceptance of pork with different levels of boar taint according to their androstenone (AND) sensitivity in France (FR, N=144), Spain (ES, N=101) and United Kingdom (UK, N=147). Samples were classified as ‘females’, ‘detection minus’ males (low levels of AND and skatole — SKA) and ‘detection plus’ males (high levels of AND and SKA). Globally, 22.7% of consumers were high sensitive, 28.3% middle and 49.0% low sensitive or insensitive to AND. Sixty-five percent dislike AND odour. AND disliking was lower in UK than ES and FR. The percentage of consumers that may reject tainted meat was 14.3–41.0%; the risk was lower in UK than ES and FR. The description of AND odour varied according to the degree of sensitivity of the consumers. High AND levels reduced the acceptability of boar meat; medium AND levels could even improve its acceptability compared with low levels, resulting in meat which is as positive as that from females.

The effects of method of castration, rearing condition and diet on sensory quality of pork assessed by a trained panel

Beside surgical castration possible alternatives helping to reduce the incidence of boar taint in cooked pork are rearing conditions, immunocastration and feeding strategies for entire males known to lower the skatole levels. The goal of this study was to assess the effects of these alternatives on the sensory acceptability of pork. In experiment 1, carcasses from barrows, entire males (EM) and entire males fed raw potato starch (EM+) 7d before slaughter were selected based on the androstenone (<or=2 microg/g) and skatole (<or=0.32 microg/g) levels. In experiment 2, carcasses from barrows, immunocastrates (IC), entire males either group-penned (EMG) or individually penned (EMP) were selected based on the aforementioned criteria. Boar odour and boar flavour intensities of longissimus dorsi (LD) and neck chops were evaluated by trained panellists. Boar odour and flavour scores were higher (P<0.01) in neck than LD chops. Although skatole tissue levels in barrows and EM+ were similar (P>0.05), boar odour and flavour scores were greater (P<0.05) in EM+ than barrows. In experiment 2, scores for boar odour and flavour were lower (P<0.05) in pork from barrows and IC than EMP, with intermediate values for EMG. In conclusion, we observed a discrepancy between the known boar taint compounds androstenone and skatole and sensory acceptability, which indicates that other factors influenced the perception of boar taint. Thus, surgical castration with or without anesthesia or immunocastration are still the safest methods to avoid boar taint.

Consumers’ sensory acceptability of pork from immunocastrated male pigs

Boar taint is the off-odour or off flavour of cooked pork. Currently, the most common method of controlling boar taint is surgical castration. However, immunocastration has been used in some parts of the world as an alternative to surgical castration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensory acceptability of meat from immunocastrated pigs (IM) compared with meat from females (FE), surgically castrated (CM) and entire males (EM). Twenty animals of each type were evaluated by 201 consumers in 20 sessions. Longissimus thoracis muscle of the different animals was cooked in an oven at 180 °C for 10 min. Consumers scored the odour and the flavour of the meat in a 9-point category scale without an intermediate level. There were no significant differences in consumer’s evaluation of meat from IM, CM, and FE. In contrast, EM meat presented a higher percentage of dissatisfied scores and was significantly ( P < 0.05) less accepted than meat from CM, IM and FE. Consumers’ acceptability of EM meat was always lower, independently of its androstenone levels. However meat with low levels of androstenone was more accepted that meat with medium or high levels of this substance. It can be concluded that immunocastration produced pork that was accepted by the consumers, and was indistinguishable from pork from CM or FE.

Porcine somatotropin alters body composition and the distribution of fat and lean tissue in the finisher gilt

The present study was designed to determine whether porcine somatotropin (pST) reduces whole animal and belly fat using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and manual dissection. The study utilised 24 Large White × Landrace gilts selected at 16 weeks of age with an approximate liveweight of 80 kg and housed in individual pens. Gilts were stratified on liveweight into 8 blocks and 1 pig from each block was assigned to either 0, 5 or 10 mg per day of pST. Pigs were fed ad libitum a wheat-based diet containing 200 g crude protein, 10.2 g available lysine and 14.6 MJ DE/kg, to ensure that responses to pST were expressed. Feed intake and liveweight were measured on a weekly basis. An Hologic QDR4500A dual energy X-ray absorptiometer was used to determine lean, fat and ash composition of pigs initially and again 4 weeks later at the end of the experiment. After slaughter, the composition of the whole half carcass as well as the shoulder, ham, belly and loin primal cuts was determined with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and verified with manual dissection. Daily pST treatment decreased feed intake (3440, 2710 and 2537 g/day for 0, 5 or 10 mg pST per day, respectively; P&lt;0.001) and decreased feed conversion ratio (2.95, 2.18 and 2.03 g/g; P&lt;0.001) even though there was no significant effect on daily gain. Pigs treated with pST deposited more lean tissue (620, 839 and 873 g/day; P&lt;0.05) and less fat (384, 218 and 176 g/day; P&lt;0.001) than control animals, but there was no effect of pST on ash deposition. As a consequence, pigs treated with 5 and 10 mg pST/day contained 5 and 9 kg less dissectible fat than control gilts, respectively. A dose dependent decrease in belly, loin, ham and shoulder fat was also observed, although the decrease in belly fat was more pronounced than for the whole carcass and other primal cuts. Overall, pST treatment has the potential to decrease carcass and especially belly fat in pigs and increase consumer acceptance of pork in markets that place a premium on carcass fat and lean yield in the belly region. The results determined with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry were confirmed by manual dissection.

The eating quality of Canadian pork and its relationship with intramuscular fat

This study was undertaken to assess the effect of various levels of intramuscular fat (IMF: <1%, 1.0–1.49%, 1.5–1.99%, 2.0–2.49% and 2.5–3.0%) produced from Canadian pigs on the eating attributes of pork loin. Sensory and instrumental eating attributes were determined on 85 pork loins ( m. longissimus lumborum and thoracis). The following correlations were found between IMF and eating attributes: softness, −0.32 ( P < 0.01); initial tenderness, −0.31 ( P < 0.01); chewiness, −0.27 ( P < 0.01); rate of breakdown, −0.20 ( P = 0.07); juiciness, 0.17 ( P > 0.05); flavour intensity, 0.24 ( P = 0.02); off-flavour, 0.13 ( P > 0.05); mouth coating, 0.13 ( P > 0.05); amount of perceptible connective tissue, −0.02 ( P > 0.05), and instrumental tenderness (Warner–Bratzler shear force), −0.41 ( P < 0.001). As tenderness is considered the most important attribute that determines overall acceptance of pork, the threshold level of IMF for ensuring a positive eating experience was identified as a function of the attributes describing tenderness. Increasing the level of IMF past 1.5% did not change ( P < 0.05) the panelists scores for softness and initial tenderness. Average shear force, an instrumental measure of tenderness, was higher ( P < 0.05) at less than 1% IMF but did not change past 1.0% IMF ( P > 0.05). It is proposed that the threshold level of IMF that will ensure a pleasing eating experience is 1.5% IMF.

Acceptability of boar meat by consumers depending on their age, gender, culinary habits, and sensitivity and appreciation of androstenone odour

Sensitivity of the consumers to androstenone, evaluated as the degree of smell (strong/weak) perceived by smelling the pure compound, is important in determining their acceptability of pork with different levels of androstenone and skatole. However, 8% (3.3% women and 16.2% men) of highly sensitive consumers like this odour, and 12.7% (9.1% women and 15.9% men) of mildly sensitive/insensitive consumers dislike it. The effect of the appreciation (like/dislike) of the smell in the acceptability of pork samples has not been reported previously. The aim of this paper is to ascertain if this liking for androstenone odour affects pork acceptability as well as the gender, age, and culinary habits of the consumers. Consumers evaluated the flavour and odour of five cooked and reheated samples, and recorded their acceptability on a 7-step scale. Results showed that acceptability of pork increases when the frequency of cooking and eating fresh pork are higher. The acceptability also differed depending on the sensitivity of the consumer within each age group. Appreciability of androstenone odour discriminates more than sensitivity in consumers’ acceptance of pork.

Influence of intramuscular fat content on lipid composition, sensory qualities and consumer acceptability of cured cooked ham.

The present study is part of a project which aims to examine the influence of intramuscular fat (IMF) content on the sensory attributes and consumer acceptability of pork. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of IMF level in muscle semimembranosus (SM) on the composition of its lipid fraction and on the sensory qualities and consumer acceptability of cured cooked hams. Thirty-two carcasses were selected 24 h after slaughter from 125 Duroc × Landrace castrated male pigs showing large variability in SM muscle IMF content and were assigned to four IMF groups: ≤2%, 2-3%, 3-4% and >4%. Cured cooked ham slices were evaluated by a trained expert panel of 12 members and by a group of 56 consumers. Results from lipid analyses indicate that (i) an increase in IMF content was almost entirely reflected by an increase in the triglyceride content of the muscle and (ii) higher IMF levels were associated with higher free fatty acid and monoglyceride and lower cholesterol levels. The sensory evaluation of marbling significantly increased with IMF level, whereas other sensory qualities were unaffected. High IMF levels significantly depreciated the consumer perception of fat, aspect, taste and smell of ham slices. Overall, slices with the highest IMF levels got the least favourable rating by consumers. The present study indicates that increased IMF levels in muscle semimembranosus do not have significant effects on the sensory attributes of cured cooked hams, apart from the perception of marbling. However, high IMF levels have detrimental effects on the acceptability by consumers. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry.

Influence of intramuscular fat content on the quality of pig meat — 2. Consumer acceptability of m. longissimus lumborum

The present study is part of a project which aimed to examine the influence of intramuscular fat (IMF) content on sensory attributes and consumer acceptability of pork. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate consumer acceptability of pork chops with varying IMF level in muscle Longissimus lumborum (LL). Each experiment used 32 castrated male pigs selected after slaughter either from 125 Duroc × Landrace (Experiment 1) or 102 Tia Meslan × Landrace (Experiment 2) crossbred animals, and showing large variability in LL IMF content: from <1.5 to >3.5% in Experiment 1 and from 1.25 to 3.25% in Experiment 2. A group of 56 consumers evaluated various items on rib-eye (LL muscle trimmed of backfat) (Experiment 1) and on entire chops trimmed of backfat (Experiment 2). Data from Experiment 1 indicate that an increase in IMF level is associated with an increase in visual perception of fat and a corresponding decrease in the willingness to eat and purchase the meat, when expressed before tasting. The latter effect disappeared after the consumers had tasted the meat, probably due to a positive effect of increase IMF, up to 3.5%, on the perception of texture and taste. In Experiment 2, where entire chops were evaluated, the perception of visible fat was not affected by IMF level, probably due to the lack of variation in the level of intermuscular fat between the four IMF groups. The willingness to eat and purchase the meat were unaffected by IMF level, whereas the perception of texture and taste was enhanced with increased IMF levels up to 3.25%. The present data suggest that the acceptability of pork may be improved by increasing IMF level but: (1) this effect disappeared for IMF levels higher than 3.5%, which are associated with a high risk of meat rejection due to visible fat and (2) the positive effect of increased IMF probably holds true as long as it is not associated with an increase in the level of intermuscular fat.

Influence of intramuscular fat content on the quality of pig meat — 1. Composition of the lipid fraction and sensory characteristics of m. longissimus lumborum

The present study is part of a project which aimed to examine the influence of intramuscular fat (IMF) content on the sensory attributes and consumer acceptability of pork. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the influence of IMF level on the composition of the lipid fraction and on the sensory qualities of muscle longissimus lumborum (LL). Each of these experiments used 32 castrated male pigs selected after slaughter either from 125 Duroc×Landrace (Experiment 1) or 102 Tia Meslan×Landrace (Experiment 2) crossbred animals, and showing large variability in LL IMF content: from <1.5 to >3.5% in Experiment 1 and from 1.25 to 3.25% in Experiment 2. Results from lipid analyses indicate that in both experiments, an increase in IMF content is almost entirely reflected by an increase in the triglycerides content of the muscle. In Experiment 2, higher IMF content was associated with higher free fatty acids. Marbling score was significantly affected by IMF level in Experiment 1 but not in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, a trend towards a favourable effect of high IMF levels on flavour ( p=0.09) and tenderness ( p=0.055) was observed. In experiment 2, increased IMF level was associated with significantly higher juiciness and flavour scores. The results from the present study indicate that the variability in IMF level of LL muscle was almost entirely due to the variability in triglyceride contents. Favourable effects of increased IMF levels on the sensory attributes of pork were demonstrated in both experiments using different types of animals, but the nature and the magnitude of these effects depended on the experiment considered.

CONSUMER EVALUATION OF PORK APPEARANCE WITH DIFFERING PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PACKAGING CONDITIONS

ABSTRACT Consumers (n = 116) evaluated color (pink intensity), appearance (wet/dry), overall acceptability and purchase intent of normal, PSE and DFD pork loin slices in PVC and in vacuum packages. Packaging x muscle condition affected (p &lt; 0.05) appearance, overall acceptability and consumer purchase intent of pork slices. Color differences were perceptible to consumers between packaging treatments. PVC‐packaged pork was pinker than vacuum‐packaged pork. Vacuum‐packaged, PSE pork appeared drier than PVC‐packaged PSE pork. Normal pork was more acceptable than PSE pork regardless of packaging. DFD pork acceptability was not different from that of normal pork when vacuum packaged. In general purchase intent paralleled consumer evaluation of overall acceptability. Instrumental color data and pH for samples evaluated are also presented.

Effect of Sunflower Seeds on Performance, Carcass Quality, Fatty Acids and Acceptability of Pork

Effect of Sunflower Seeds on Performance, Carcass Quality, Fatty Acids and Acceptability of Pork

Influence of Diet on Quality, Fatty Acids and Acceptability of Pork

Influence of Diet on Quality, Fatty Acids and Acceptability of Pork

Corn, Wheat, Milo and Barley with Soybean Meal or Roasted Soybeans and Their Effect on Feedlot Performance, Carcass Traits and Pork Acceptability

Corn, Wheat, Milo and Barley with Soybean Meal or Roasted Soybeans and Their Effect on Feedlot Performance, Carcass Traits and Pork Acceptability

Pork Acceptability and its Relationship to Carcass Quality

Pork Acceptability and its Relationship to Carcass Quality

Pork Acceptability as Influenced by Breed, Sex, Carcass Measurements and Cutability

Pork Acceptability as Influenced by Breed, Sex, Carcass Measurements and Cutability