Relationship Between the Subjective and Objective Assessment of Pork M. semimembranosus and Classification of Further Processed Pork Quality

Pale, soft, exudative (PSE) pork poses many problems for ham processors with the colour and texture of the final product being of major concern. As visual assessment is the primary, and often the only, method used by these producers, they require objective methods of assessing the quality of the raw material prior to production of hams. This study was conducted to establish the relationship between objective colour measurements and subjective (visual) methods of assessing pork meat quality and to ascertain the ability of objective colour measurements (CIE L* and percentage reflectance) to accurately segregate porcine muscles according to quality, prior to ham production. Pork topsides (M. semi-membranosus and M. adductor) were visually assessed by experienced industry personnel, from a large ham producing company, as being ‘pale’ (n 489) or ‘good’ (n 625) in colour. CIE L* and percentage reflectance (%R) were then recorded on all muscles. Pearson’s correlation coefficients confirmed a significant relationship between visually assessed meat and both L* (r 0.71) and reflectance (r 0.71). CIE L* above 57 and%R below 43% correctly classified 75% of the ‘pale’ topsides. CIE L* below 53 and%R above 53% correctly classified 75% of the ‘good’ topsides. Muscles were processed and colour, texture, sliceability and water holding capacity of the resulting ham products were determined. Hams produced using ‘pale’ topsides had significantly higher (p 0.001) CIE L* and b* values and lower%R (p 0.001), moisture content (p 0.001) and water holding capacity (p 0.05). The textural characteristics of the hams were significantly different (p 0.05) and those produced using ‘good’ meat had greater cohesiveness, chewiness, gumminess and springiness. This study indicates that these objective methods may have potential in the classification of topsides prior to ham processing.