Understanding Pork Quality and the Effect of Moisture Infusion
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Pork Quality
26 July 2024
Completed Project
Project goal
Utilising a panel of regular and irregular pork consumers, the project assessed consumer responses to cooked pork samples of four different Pork Quality Scores (PQS), PQS1 – PQS4 with the samples of PQS4 being moisture infused.
The project focused on identifying discernable differences in eating quality of the PQS levels, understanding the drivers of consumer appeal, and evaluating the current PQS prediction model.
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Project summary
The project showed positive results and overall supported the PQS model, with the highest PQS steak scoring the highest in consumer testing. There was however, a less defined quality difference between the three lower PQS steaks when rated by the consumers, this implies that the consumers were unable to make clear differentiation between the three lower PQS score steaks.
A key outcome of this project was that consumers distinguished a quality difference between samples that underwent moisture infusion and those that did not. This suggests that moisture infusion has a significant impact on pork sensory properties.
The influence of pH and core cooking temperature on pork eating quality appeared to be less pronounced when assessed by consumers. Notably, moisture infusion substantially impacted sensory properties, while pH may have some influence on textural properties. Surprisingly, overcooking by 5°C did not appear to affect sensory properties.
To validate these findings and explore interactions between factors, further research to explore the effects of varying pH levels and cooking temperatures could enhance understanding of these relationships.
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Research enquiries
For further information on pork quality, please contact Vaibhav Gole on 0436 934 763 or email: vaibhav.gole@australianpork.com.au