An approach for objective and automated identification of pork belly firmness

A series of studies was performed to develop and test a method adaptable for early automated sorting of pork bellies based on firmness. Flattened and non-flattened, bone-in, skin-on primal bellies were fed skin-down, caudal end foremost on to a horizontal (0°) or raised (30°) conveyor with an adjustable nosebar (ø = 14 mm). The drop angle, after 24 cm of belly had passed the nosebar, was strongly correlated with subjective floppiness (r = 0.77-0.82; P ≤ .0001) and moderately correlated with fat thicknesses (r = 0.47-0.67; P ≤ .0001). On a 0° conveyor, drop angle relationships were generally weakest for non-flattened bellies, but moderate and similar for flattened bellies at 0°, as well as for both flattened and non-flattened bellies at 30°. The method appears to show promise for commercial production use. Further work is required on the impact of belt speed, firmness categorization, and the relationship to the current bar bend research method.