THE USE OF TEXTURE DESTRUCTIVE METHODS TO ASSESS THE STATE OF PORK FRESHNESS

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the freshness state of pork meat and for this we built an electronic device for creep test with a sensory system for measuring displacement and time. After each measurement a creep curve characterized by the penetration depth and mechanical work of compression was obtained. The color measurements was made with a USB 4000 Ocean Optics spectrophotometer, using the CIE L*a*b* uniform color space. After 10 days of measurements while the meat was kept refrigerated at 4 °C, a linear trend between the state of meat freshness (expressed as storage days), mechanical work (R²=0.986) and penetration depth (R²=0.987) was established. A Pearson correlation has also been established between meat freshness, penetration depth (r=0.994**) mechanical work, water activity and pH.