National pH audit

It is important to manage the relationship between muscle pH and muscle temperature decline to produce high quality meat. This is because pH decline during chilling is related to the quality of the meat affecting colour, drip loss and tenderness. Knowing this, processors can gather useful information for pork quality management by monitoring pH and temperature in the loin muscle post slaughter. If pH issues are detected, management controls can be then implemented to maintain pork quality. The objective of this project was to conduct a national pH audit to monitor the pH of pork during processing.