Producing consistent quality meat from the modern pig

Description

Pork producers have focussed, over many years, on producing pork efficiently and sustainably, in order to satisfy consumer demand for lean pork and remain competitive. Increases in efficiency and leanness have been achieved through genetics, targeted nutrition and the use of entire males and metabolic modifiers. This chapter describes the various influencing factors that need to be considered in order to consistently produce high-quality pork in the modern pig industry. The chapter outlines the significance of visual appearance, sensory quality and protein functionality for processed pork products. The chapter presents influencing factors throughout the pig industry supply chain for the production of quality pork, as well as interventions for quality improvement, and looks ahead to future trends of research in this area.

Table of contents

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