Studing On Relationship Between Muscle Protein And Structural Changes Postmortem And Water-Holding Capacity Of Chilled Pork

Water-holding capacity (WHC), the ability of fresh meat to retain moisture, is arguably one of the most important quality characteristics of raw products. Many index are used to valuate water holding capacity of chilled meat, however, drip loss and purge loss are the most widely used in meat industry. It has been estimated that as much as 50% or more of the pork produced has unacceptably high purge or drip loss. Product weight losses due to drip can average as much as 1-10% in fresh meat. In addition to the loss of salable weight, drip or purge loss also entails the loss of a significant amount of protein. For the meat industry, low WHC implies increased economical losses, and consequently there is a strong interest in optimizing this parameter. The WHC of chilled meat is also known to influence its technological quality, for example, processing yield. For the consumer, low WHC has a determental impact on the appearance of chilled meat during retail, and may influence the sensory quality of the meat. The biochemical, physiological and structural events that are...