Objective meat quality measurements of ham: A practical classification method on the slaughterline

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Animal Science
• Agricultural Engineering

Background:

• Meat quality is a critical challenge in Spanish dry-cured ham production.
• Objective instrumental measurements exist but are difficult to implement industrially.
• Accurate classification of ham quality is essential for industry standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simplified, industry-applicable method for classifying ham meat quality.
• To assess the feasibility of using internal light scattering (FOP), electrical conductivity (EC), and pH for ham classification.
• To correlate instrumental measurements with established meat quality categories.

Main Methods:

• Tested 312 pork carcasses across three industrial abattoirs.
• Measured FOP, EC, and pH in Semimembranosus (SM) muscle at 45 min and 24 h post mortem.
• Developed a theoretical quality value (Q) using simplified statistical treatment of FOP, EC, and pH data.

Main Results:

• Identified meat quality defects: 6.7% DFD, 53.9% slightly DFD, 3.5% slightly PSE, and 2.6% PSE.
• A simplified quality value (Q) demonstrated high predictive accuracy (R² = 0.85, P<0.001) for ham classification.
• The developed method showed strong correlation with experimental variables.

Conclusions:

• A simplified statistical method using FOP, EC, and pH effectively classifies ham meat quality.
• This approach offers a practical solution for the dry-cured ham industry.
• The theoretical quality value (Q) provides a reliable tool for industrial ham assessment.