Meat quality: Influence of fatness of pigs on the eating quality of pork

The eating qualities of pork from the longissimus dorsi muscles of pigs showing a wide variation in fatness (10‐40 mm, back fat thickness) were assessed by taste panel after either the excised muscle had been grilled or a complete loin joint had been roasted. The average panel scores for texture and juiciness covered a wide range but were not consistently related to fatness. Although meat from fatter pigs tended to be judged more tender in direct comparisons, overall the results did not support the contention that fatness in the carcass is associated with tenderness in the lean meat.