A plug sampling technique for measuring the pH of carcass muscles

A modified surgical biopsy instrument has been developed for taking muscle samples from the M. longissimus dorsi of sheep carcasses. This instrument enables samples of approximately 2 g to be taken without mutilating the carcass. Samples from a range of carcasses were incubated in liquid paraffin for 24 h at approximately 20°C and pH values measured after homogenisation in iodoacetate solution. The values obtained were an accurate measure of ultimate pH of the muscle at the site from which the plug samples were taken. This technique has a number of advantages over measurement by direct probe methods.