Consumer eating quality and physicochemical traits of pork Longissimus and Semimembranosus differed between genetic lines

Pork eating quality is affected by various factors. In this study, Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) and Semimembranosus (SM) muscles from seven genetic lines (PM-LR - Pure maternal, Landrace-type; PM-LW - Pure maternal, Large White-type; PM-D - Pure maternal, Duroc-type; PT-D - Pure terminal, Duroc-type; PT-LW - Pure terminal, Large White-type; PT-LR - Pure Terminal, Landrace-type; Comp-P × LW × D - Composite Terminal - Pietran × Large white × Duroc) were analyzed for pH, intramuscular fat (IMF) content, and collagen content and solubility. A consumer sensory test using check-all-that-apply (CATA) and biometric approaches was also conducted. The results showed that the IMF content of line PM-D was the highest (P = 0.004), while line PT-LW received the highest score in tenderness, liking of flavor, purchase intent, and quality grading (P < 0.05). Line PM-LR and PT-LR showed the lowest IMF content and were least preferred by consumers. Compared to LTL, SM showed higher pH, collagen solubility, and sensory scores in tenderness, juiciness, liking of flavor, and overall liking (P < 0.05). Different muscles and lines were associated with different CATA terms but not with differences in consumer emotional responses. pH positively influenced tenderness, juiciness, and overall liking (P < 0.05), but IMF and collagen had little effect. The flavor was the most important sensory attribute contributing to overall liking, followed by tenderness. Genetic line and muscle affected pork chemical properties and eating quality. The findings are important for the Australian pork industry to improve the eating quality of their products.

Dietary iron or inulin supplementation alters iron status, growth performance, intramuscular fat and meat quality in finisher pigs

Forty LW × L pigs (20 boars and 20 gilts) (51.1 ± 0.41 kg) were allocated to a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design with the respective factors being supplemental organic iron (Fe, 0 and 500 mg/kg), inulin (In, 0 and 50 g/kg) and sex (boars and gilts). After 5 weeks the animals were transported to an abattoir before slaughter and collection of samples. Serum iron was increased by supplemental Fe (28.4 v. 30.9 μmol/L, P = 0.05), although there was an interaction (P = 0.03) such that pigs fed diets with In had lower serum Fe concentrations than those without In (26.8 v. 32.3 μmol/L). Boars had lower (P < 0.01) haemoglobin (116 vs 125), haematocrit (36.7 v. 39.7%) and erythrocyte (6.6 v. 7.1 × 106/mL) concentrations than gilts. Dietary In increased liveweight gain (795 v. 869 g/d, P < 0.02) and carcass weight (62.9 v. 65.2 kg, P < 0.02). Dietary Fe or In supplementation did not improve muscle Longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) total Fe concentration (P > 0.05). Muscle non-heme Fe concentration was higher in Fe-supplemented pigs (P < 0.04) and gilts (P < 0.05) than their counterparts. Muscle heme Fe concentration was greater (3.04 vs 2.51, P < 0.05) in boars than in gilts. The LTL marbling score was greater (P < 0.01) for In-supplemented pigs, and the response was more notable when Fe and In were fed together. These data show that dietary supplementation of Fe increased serum Fe and muscle non-heme Fe concentrations. Supplementation of In at 5% in the diet of finisher pigs improved liveweight gain and the marbling score of pork.

Assessing Australian consumer preferences for fresh pork meat attributes: A best-worst approach on 46 attributes

Constant competition and changing consumer preferences prompts the need to improve the competitiveness of the Australian pork industry. This study examines the heterogeneity of Australian consumer preferences related to fresh pork cues. Using best-worst scaling, we examine the importance of 15 intrinsic and 31 extrinsic product attributes to 196 Australian consumers. Findings reveal that taste, succulence and the smell of boar taint were the most important intrinsic cues, while animal welfare and naturalness were the most important extrinsic cues. Based on the importance of intrinsic cues, four segments were identified, namely boar taint haters, lean meat eaters, colour lovers and cuts and size matters. Four segments based on extrinsic cues were identified as animal and environment lovers, naturalness lovers, demanding buyers and utilitarian buyers. This study contributes significantly to the industry by offering granular insights with respect to Australian consumer demands and optimal communication of cues.

Effect of Dry-Aging on Quality and Palatability Attributes and Flavor-Related Metabolites of Pork Loins

This study evaluated the effect of dry-aging on quality, palatability, and flavor-related compounds of pork loins. Ten pork loins were obtained at 7 days postmortem, divided into three equal portions, randomly assigned into three different aging methods (wet-aging (W), conventional dry-aging (DA), and UV-light dry-aging (UDA)), and aged for 21 days at 2 °C, 70% RH, and 0.8 m/s airflow. The results showed similar instrumental tenderness values across all treatments (p > 0.05), while DA and UDA had a greater water-holding capacity than WA (p < 0.05). Both DA and UDA were observed to have comparable color stability to WA up to 5 days of retail display (p > 0.05). Greater lipid oxidation was measured in both DA and UDA at the end of display compared to WA (p < 0.05). The UV light minimized microorganisms concentration on both surface and lean portions of UDA compared to other treatments (p < 0.05). The consumer panel was not able to differentiate any sensory traits and overall likeness between the treatments (p > 0.05). Metabolomics analysis, however, identified more flavor-related compounds in dry-aged meat. These findings suggested that dry-aging can be used for pork loins for value-seeking consumers, as it has a potential to generate unique dry-aged flavor in meat with no adverse impacts on meat quality and microbiological attributes.

Quality characteristics and flavor compounds of pork meat as a function of carcass quality grade

Objective

The present work aimed at evaluating the effects of carcass quality grade on the quality characteristics of pork meat according to Korean carcass quality grade system.

Method

Pork carcasses with varying in quality grades (QG): 1+ (QG1+, n=10), 1 (QG1, n=10) and 2 (QG2, n=10), were used to evaluate the relationship between carcass quality grade and meat quality. The meat quality traits, fatty acid profiles, flavor compounds and sensory qualities were measured on the longissimus dorsi muscle samples of these carcasses.

Results

Pork meat of higher quality grade (GQ1+) presented significantly higher fat content (5.43%), C18:2n-6 level (19.03%) and total unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) content (62.72%). Also, the QG1+ meat was significantly higher in levels of classes of flavor compounds such as aldehydes, alcohols and hydrocarbons in comparison to those of the meat samples from the lower GQ groups. The sensory evaluation results (flavor, juiciness, tenderness and acceptability scores) of QG1+ meat was significantly higher than the QG1 and QG2 meats. The pork with lower QG (i.e., QG2) was found positively correlated to redness (r=0.987), C18:1n-9 level (r=1.000) but negatively correlated to the fat content (r=-0.949), and flavor (r=-0.870), juiciness (r=-0.861), tenderness (r=-0.862) and acceptability (r=-0.815) scores.

Conclusion

The pork with higher quality grade had higher fat content, total unsaturated fatty acids and better eating quality, thus producing pork with higher quality grades should be considered in order to satisfy the consumer's expectation.

Guaranteeing the quality and integrity of pork - An Australian case study

The Australian pork industry is strongly committed to assuring the integrity of its product, with substantial research investment made over the past ten years to develop and implement systems to assure the consistency and quality of fresh pork and to enable accurate tracing of unpackaged fresh pork back to property of origin using trace elemental profiling. These initiatives are pivotal to allow Australian pork of guaranteed eating quality to be successfully positioned as higher value products, across a range of international and domestic markets, whilst managing any threats of product substitution. This paper describes the current status of the development of a predictive eating quality model for Australian pork, utilizing eating quality datasets generated from recent Australian studies. The implementation of trace elemental profiling, by Physi-Trace™, to verify and defend provenance claims and support the supply of consistently high eating quality Australian pork to its customers, is also discussed.

Quantifying production, processing and post-slaughter effects on pork eating quality using random effects meta-regression

Random effects meta-regression techniques, analyzed using a restricted maximum likelihood (REML) approach, was used to determine the influence of various factors that may be experienced or imposed on pigs, carcases and pork on pork eating quality attributes and shear force of the M. longissimus dorsi (loin). This was done to inform the development of a pathway based eating quality system for pork. Estimated means of explanatory variables were obtained for those pathway factors where sufficient published studies met the criteria for inclusion in the analysis. Due to a lack of data for interactions between factors investigated, only single factors were included as fixed terms in the REML models. This analysis identified that moisture infusion (P < 0.001), ageing for more than 2 d post-slaughter (P = 0.006) and tenderstretching (P = 0.006) each resulted in significant improvements in tenderness. Cooking loins to an endpoint temperature of ≥ 80°C negatively impacted both tenderness (P = 0.022) and juiciness (P < 0.001) scores compared with 70 to 74°C. It was not possible to develop algorithms to reliably estimate the effects of multiple factors on pork eating quality attributes to a cuts-based level due to limited studies reporting data for treatment interactions.