Effect of time of deboning and sample size on drip loss of pork

The effects of time of deboning and sample size on drip loss of pork samples (m, longissimus) was studied in relation to the weight loss of the carcass sides or joints using two groups of 16 carcasses. One side of each carcass was cut and sampled at 1 day post mortem and served as a control. The other carcass sides were sampled for meat quality measurements after storage for another 5 days, either without cutting (group 1, n = 16) or after cutting into primal joints (group 2, n = 16). It was found that weight loss of carcass sides and joints increased with time, but at a decreasing rate. Drip loss largely decreased when meat samples were taken at a later time post mortem. The 48 h drip loss of the meat samples taken at 6 days post mortem was approximately 6% lower than in samples taken at 1 day post mortem. This reduction in drip loss was of the same magnitude as the weight loss of the carcass sides or the joints during 5 days storage. It is suggested that 'leaking out' explains most of the reduction in drip loss when sampling at a later time post mortem, and is not due to an improvement of water-holding capacity of the meat. It was also found that standardising the sample size increased drip loss. The effect of sample size is discussed in relation to the carcass lean content. Storage had little or no effect on other meat quality traits. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.