Producing consistent quality meat from the modern pig R. D. Warner and F. R. Dunshea, University of Melbourne, Australia; and H. A. Channon, University of Melbourne and Australian Pork Limited, Australia

Producing consistent quality meat from the modern pig R. D. Warner and F. R. Dunshea, University of Melbourne, Australia; and H. A. Channon, University of Melbourne and Australian Pork Limited, Australia

1 Introduction

2 Issues/challenges for control of pig meat quality

3 Influencing factors for the challenges

4 Recommendations for overcoming challenges

5 Case study: pork quality in Australia

6 Conclusion and future trends

7 Where to look for further information

8 References

The key issues that present challenges to the pig industry in the production of high-quality pork are (1) efficient production of lean carcasses, (2) occurrence of quality aberrations particularly those associated with post-mortem muscle metabolism resulting in either, rapid pH fall and low pH or high final muscle pH (pale, soft, exudative (PSE) and dark, firm, dry (DFD) pork, respectively) and (3) producing excellent quality pork that is suitable to be sold as fresh and processed pork products.