Rapid Chilling and Mechanical Portioning as a Fresh Pork Processing System

Abstract

ABSTRACT Several rapid chilling techniques were applied after a variable delay time in an effort to link hot pork processing and mechanical portioning. Boneless pork loins (n = 80) were removed (1, 3 or 5 hr post‐stunning) and assigned to one of three rapid chilling treatments: brine chilling, CO 2 gas or CO 2 snow. These were compared to the traditional method of chilling the carcasses 24 hr prior to blast freezing of excised loins. Loins were chilled until crust frozen, then tempered and mechanically portioned. Muscle color, pH, and sarcomere lengths were measured. Cooked chops were evaluated by taste panel and Warner‐Bratzer shear force. There were no major differences in these parameters between rapid chilling methods when a delay time of at least 3 hr was used.