A comparison of methods to estimate water-holding capacity in post-rigor porcine muscle

Water-holding capacity (WHC) of muscle is important because it affects both qualitative and quantitative aspects of meat and meat products. For assessment of WHC under field and laboratory conditions, there are several methods available, but they have not been compared in a single experiment to determine accuracy and repeatibility. The Longissimus dorsi from each of 28 porcine loins representing three distinct levels of WHC (DFD, PSE, normal) was separated into eighteen parts that were randomly assigned to individual methods. The following methods were compared: Grau-Hamm and Braunschweiger-Gerät filter paper press techniques using five approaches of evaluation for each method; transmission per cent; swelling due to added water; centrifugation; 48-h fresh and cooked shrink: imbibition of surface fluids, kapillar volumeter, permittivity; and score or weight of surface fluids accumulating on filter paper. Results indicated that most methods separated the three muscle types. However, the cooking loss tests failed to differentiate between PSE and normal samples, and the transmission, imbibition and pressed fluid methods did not always distinguish between DFD and normal. The tests that appeared to be most reliable included drip loss originating from size-standardized samples, swelling of homogenized samples by added water and absorption of surface fluids on filter paper.