Potassium carbonate improves fresh pork quality characteristics

Meat enhancement strategies like sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) are used to improve fresh meat quality attributes like color, water-holding capacity, and tenderness. However, alternatives are necessary because of reduced consumer acceptance of STP. One alternative is potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃). A study was conducted to evaluate K₂CO₃'s impact on fresh, boneless, center-cut pork loins enhanced with one of five treatments: a negative control, positive control (0.3% STP), and three concentrations of K₂CO₃ (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5%). Loins were cut into chops, stored under simulated retail display, and analyzed for color (L*, a*, b*), pH, cook loss, and tenderness. For each quality characteristic measured, the 0.3% and 0.5% K₂CO₃ maintained redness (a*), decreased yellowness (b*), reduced cooking loss, and maintained tenderness compared to STP. SDS-PAGE analysis further determined that both K₂CO₃ and STP extracted myosin heavy chain. Combined, these data suggest that K₂CO₃ may function as an alternative to STP in the fresh pork industry provided microbial safety and shelf-life are appropriately controlled.