Muscle pH(60), colour (L, a, b) and water-holding capacity and the influence of post-mortem meat temperature

The use of the pH(60) and colour parameters (L, a, b) as chilled pork drip loss predictors 24 h post-mortem as well as the influence on this meat characteristic of an early blast cooling regime (90 min post-mortem) were investigated. Despite the best correlation found with pH(60) (-0·647), both indicators were found to be poor for this purpose, it being impossible to use them alone for pork quality classification (PSE/DFD status). Comparing the evolution between the drip losses on chilled and early deep frozen (-60°C) longissimus dorsi pork cuts, the results indicate that both the thawing regime and the time the samples stay in refrigeration, influence the observed trends significantly. The general drip loss enhancement seen after thawing as well as the increasing meat toughness, judged subjectively, must be due to cold-shortening and/or thaw rigor phenomena.