Evaluation of three pork quality prediction tools across a 48 hours postmortem period

Abstract

Numerous reports have evaluated the predictive ability of carcass probes for meat quality using measurements taken early postmortem or near 24 h. The intervening time period, however, has been largely ignored. In this study, the capacity of three probes [pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and grading probe light reflectance (GP)] to predict pork longissimus muscle quality (drip and cooking losses, Warner-Bratzler shear, L*, n = 30) was evaluated at 45 min, 90 min, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h postmortem. The strongest relationships were observed between cooking loss and 6 h EC and GP (R2 = 0.66, 0.72), and L* and GP (R2 = 0.57-0.66, 12-48 h). pH was most valuable early postmortem (R2 = 0.63, 90 min with cooking loss). GP at 6 h most effectively (R2 = 0.84) predicted a two factor (cooking loss+L*) meat quality index. Results emphasize the predictive value of measures taken between 3 and 12 h postmortem.