EFFECTS OF BREED, FEED LEVEL AND CONDITIONING TIME ON THE TENDERNESS OF PORK

This study of 80 pigs compared the effects of breed (Duroc vs Large Wh ite),feed level (High vs 0.8 High, termed Low) and conditioning time ( 1 vs 10 days at 1 degrees C) on the tenderness and other aspects of th e eating quality of pork. Conditioning time had the biggest effect (in crease of 1.0 units on 1-8 taste panel scale between 1 and 10 days) an d this was associated with an increase in the myofibrillar fragmentati on index (MFI) from 19 to 24 units. Tenderness was not different betwe en the two breeds although pork flavour intensity and overall liking s cores were higher in Durocs. Durocs had higher concentrations of total lipid (marbling fat) in muscle (13.7 and 5.4 mg/g) and most polyunsat urated fatty acids except alpha-linolenic (C18:3 n-3) were at lower co ncentrations in Durocs, reflecting dilution of phospholipid fatty acid s within a larger total lipid pool. Pigs fed at the high level were fa tter than those fed restrictedly in terms both of P2 fat thickness and marbling fat. There was also a tendency, although not significant, fo r the meat to be more tender. When the data from all pigs were pooled, MFI was shown to correlate well with tenderness (r=0.45) and marbling fat with juiciness(r=0.36). Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.