EVALUATION OF THREE PIG BREEDS IN TERMS OF WATER HOLDING CAPACITY AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF POST-SLAUGHTER STRATEGIES TO REDUCE DRI LOSS

摘要

IntroductionThe attractiveness of pork to consumers is largely determined by appearance, i.e. colour, amount of marbling, and drip loss (Brewer and McKeith, 1999; Ngapo et al., 2007). The visual appearance is becoming even more important due to the increasing share of pre-packed meat for self-service. Currently, polarisation between discount and premium segments has been observed. Thus, in order to satisfy the premium consumer's need for constant and guaranteed quality it is necessary to select carcasses with quality beyond the standard. This research focuses on strategies to reduce drip loss of pork. We therefore evaluated meat quality characteristics of pig carcasses of three commercially available breed types. Also considering the MHS-genotype (malignant hyperthermia syndrome), we further simulated post slaughter discrimination of superior carcasses where we especially focussed on reduction of drip loss.