Differences in carcass chilling rate underlie differences in sensory traits of pork chops from pigs with heavier carcass weights.

Pork hot carcass weights (HCW) have been increasing 0.6 kg per year, and if they continue to increase at this rate, they are projected to reach an average weight of 118 kg by the year 2050. This projection in weight is a concern for pork packers and processors given the challenges in product quality from heavier carcasses of broiler chickens.

Effects of space allowance and marketing strategy on growth performance of pigs raised to 165 kg.

A total of 976 pigs (PIC 327 × Camborough; PIC, Hendersonville, TN; initially 22.0 ± 1.53 kg body weight [BW]) were used in a 160-d growth study to evaluate the effects of increasing space allowance and varying marketing strategies on growth performance of pigs raised to market weights of ~165 kg.

Rapid Communication: Effect of machine, anatomical location, and replication on instrumental color of boneless pork loins.

The objective was to determine the effect of machine, anatomical location, and replication (multiple readings) on instrumental color and to characterize the amount of variation each factor contributed to overall color. Instrumental color was measured three times on the anterior and three times on the posterior end of 250 pork loins with two different Minolta CR-400 Chroma meter devices. Each Minolta was programed to use a D65 illuminant, 2° observer with an 8 mm aperture, and calibrated with white tiles specific to each machine.