Pork Quality. I. Influences of Some Factors on Pork Muscle Characteristics

Three hundred twenty-one fresh pork loins were observed and classified on the bases of the color, marbling, and firmness of the longissimus dorsi muscle. Carcasses from hogs raised and slaughtered during the cool weather season were found to have darker, more highly marbled loins than those from hogs raised in warmer weather. The breed of the animal was highly significant in its influence on muscle types. Meaty carcasses with minimum amounts of fat were found to yield soft, slightly marbled loin muscles at a slightly higher rate than the less meaty, fatter carcasses. The correlations were low, however, and explain little of the variation in muscle types.