Pork loin quality needs to be assessed after cooking as well as in the raw state. A study published on 3 September compared 90 Landrace, Yorkshire and Duroc pigs raised under standardised conditions. It linked composition, pH, collagen, cooking loss, fatty-acid profile and instrumental texture parameters.
Emerging breast-muscle defects demand their own poultry quality strategy
The breast-muscle myopathies known as Spaghetti Meat and Gaping are distinct technological problems and should not be conflated with the familiar Wooden Breast defect. A new review brings together evidence on both abnormalities in broilers and their consequences for breast-meat quality, yield and marketability.
Rooibos marinades work only when recipe and heat process are aligned
Rooibos should not be understood as a universal antioxidant additive for pork. A study published on 1 September examined fermented and unfermented rooibos extracts in dry and wet marinades for pork loin, combined with four household cooking methods: oven, pan, sous-vide and microwave.
Outdoor-born pork turns production claims into a retail price premium
Pork from systems in which pigs are born outdoors is gaining weight in British retail. On 1 September, AHDB reported that purchased volume of outdoor-bred products rose 4% year on year. For its analysis, the organisation broadened the definition to include outdoor-bred, outdoor-reared, free-range and organic systems—in other words, systems where pigs are born outside.
Avian-influenza controls make regional origin a procurement requirement
The immediate suspension of imports of poultry meat and poultry products from France’s Maine-et-Loire department shows how animal-health events can alter trade flows with very little notice. On 3 September, Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety announced the action after a World Organisation for Animal Health notification concerning an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza.
