Page 3 - APN September 2017

Pork CRC digesting eating quality research findings
PORK CRC has invested a lot in improving the eating quality of pork and I believe eating quality is more variable than almost any bio- logical indicator of pig performance, including reproduction.
Eating quality varies across cuts, with the loin and silverside being gen- erally the ‘worst’.
It varies considerably across supply chains and there is little consisten- cy across studies for the effects of sex, carcass weight or diet.
We have, however, gen- erated an extraordinary amount of information on all these aspects and this is being developed into an eating quality pathway for the Australian industry.
The good news is eat- ing quality, as judged by consumers, can be mark- edly improved, largely by processing interventions.
In one very large study conducted across three supply chains, our re- searchers, led by Heather Channon, showed that without intervention the fail rates for the different cuts across supply chains were as high as 35-40 per- cent.
That is 35-40 percent of consumers considered some of the cuts to be unacceptable or below av- erage and their repurchas- ing intentions were even higher/worse than those for eating quality.
This is unacceptable and certainly a challenge, given increasing the de- mand for Australian pork domestically and inter- nationally is crucial for the future success of our industry.
The good news was the eatingqualityoftheworst cuts across the three sup- ply chains was markedly improved and, in most cases, the fail rate reduced to 10 percent or below by intervention.
The interventions in- cluded electrical stimula- tion, aitchbone hanging and moisture infusion.
The worst cuts differed across supply chains, as did the interventions, which most improved eat- ing quality, so there is no single strategy/technology
Initiatives
by DR ROGER CAMPBELL CEO
for improving eating qual- ity, but the supply chains know where their prob- lems are and have meth- ods for improving eating quality and pork demand.
It is up to individual companies to review the economics and then im- plement the relevant tech- nologies.
We know some have implemented the technol- ogy most appropriate to their situation and from personal experience, I can tell you the eating quality of the products, especially the loin, is excellent. More recent
The results of two re- cently completed studies demonstrated the effects of farm factors affecting eating quality and the ef- fects of packing on eating quality.
Findings from the latter are somewhat concerning, but again a message for all involved in the supply chain.
Farm factors
Pork CRC Project 3A- 112 aimed to establish a benchmark dataset that compared the multiple pre-slaughter factors of housing (conventional v deep-litter housed), car- cass weight, light (66kg HSCW) supermarket car- casses through to heavy carcasses (84kg HSCW) and sex (females v im- munocastrates) within the same genotype, nutrition- al regimen, slaughter day and post-slaughter condi- tions.
The effects were com- pared across three cuts – loin, rump and silverside.
The research was con- ducted by Dr Rob Smits and Pork CRC Masters stu- dent Amy Lealiifano, both from Rivalea Australia.
The project also involved Prof Frank Dunshea of the University of Melbourne
and Dr Darryl D’Souza of SunPork Farms.
I take this opportunity to commend Frank, who recently received the American Society of Animal Science Meats Research Award during the 2017 ASAS-CSAS
annual meeting.
The Meats Research
Award recognises re- search excellence in meat science and was spon- sored by Elanco Animal Health.
ASAS is a profession- al organisation serving more than 7000 students, animal scientists, allied industry and producers around the world. Housing effect
Housing had the biggest effect on objective meas- ures of eating quality.
Carcasses from deep lit- ter were fatter at all car- cass weights and based on Warner Bratzler shear force, produced cuts that
☛ continued P4
Dr Todd Armstrong of Elanco Animal Health presented the American Society of Animal Science Meats Research Award to Prof Frank Dunshea.
Eating quality, as judged by consumers, can be mark- edly improved, largely by processing interventions, according to a Pork CRC project led by Heather Channon.
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Australian Pork Newspaper, September 2017 – Page 3