[Studies on muscle-meat quality in swine. 1. Incidence of poor quality as well as influence of slaughtering and refrigeration]. / Untersuchungen zur Muskelfleischqualität beim Schwein. 1. Mitteilung: Vorkommen von Qualitätsmängeln sowie Einflub von Schlachtung und Kühlung.

The pork quality of M. longissimus dorsi of 1,010 pigs for slaughter in one pork production unit was determined on 17 slaughter days. Measurements taken for that purpose included pH 45 minutes post mortem, pork brightness 24 hours post mortem, and drip loss 24 hours post mortem. The following results were recorded: 1. Quality gaps in terms of PSE pork were recorded from 21.9 per cent of the pork samples stored under cold store conditions. 2. The percentage of cutlet pieces was reduced considerably (10.9 per cent) by shock cooling (-10 degrees C to -18 degrees C over 1.5 to 2.5 hours). This shows the importance of cooling. 3. The differences recorded between mean values were attributable mainly to nonsystematised environmental conditions, with such variation having been effective not only on the day of slaughter. 4. Close correlations were found to exist between drip loss and pH-value as well as between drip loss and pork brightness, while the relationships were less close between pH-value and brightness.

[Studies on the muscle meat quality of swine. 2. Effects of various ways of transport and rest periods]. / Untersuchungen zur Muskelfleischqualität beim Schwein 2. Mitteilung: Einfluss verschiedener Transportformen und Ausruhezeiten.

The effects of transport of pigs for slaughter in containers or in conventional ways on meat quality were studied on 17 slaughter days. The following results were obtained: 1. No differences regarding the occurrence of quality deficits were recordable from the two forms of transport, when rest periods beyond 20 minutes were allowed prior to slaughter. 2. Correlations between dates of slaughter and transport forms caused differences between individual slaughters which, however, were offset and levelled by the totality of all slaughters. 3. Excitation was widely offset within one hour from transport of 60 to 70 minutes, and additional rest allowances caused only slight reduction of quality deficits. 4. No correlations were detectable between weather factors and meat quality, since no extreme climatic situations were faced.

[Studies on the muscle meat quality of swine. 3. Significance of meat temperature with special reference to transport forms]. / Untersuchungen zur Muskelfleischqualität beim Schwein 3. Mitteilung: Bedeutung der Fleischtemperatur unter besonderer Beachtung der Transportformen.

Pork temperatures of M. longissimus were recorded from 1,010 pigs transported in different ways 45 minutes post mortem, with the following results having been obtained: 1. Following conventional transport, pork values were significantly higher than they had been following container transport (37.8 degrees C or 36.8 degrees C). 2. Pork values were clearly influenced by driving into the slaughterhouse, high ambient temperatures, and additional environment-borne effects prevalent on the day of slaughter. Genetic configurations, transport, and rest periods, on the other hand, proved of minor importance. 3. Pork temperature was found to be unsuitable for any characterisation of pork quality, since only unimportant correlations existed with juice retention and colour brightness, and secured relationships were found to exist merely with the pH-value. 4. Changes in rectal temperature and respiratory frequency following conventional transport were slightly stronger than those following container transport. Both of them were normalised after one or two hours and are well suitable for an assessment of preceding transport stress.