Prediction of Pork Carcass Compositions using Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Moisture or Lipid Concentration

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The usefulness of adipose tissue composition as a predictor of carcass composition was studied in pork carcasses selected at a commercial packing plant. Moisture and lipid concentrations in the middle subcutaneous adipose tissue dorsal to the last lumbar vertebra were used singly or in conjunction with measures of subcutaneous adipose tissue depth or muscle mass in regression equations to predict lipid content of the rear leg or ham, which closely parallels lipid content of the body. Percent lipid in the ham was negatively correlated with percent adipose tissue moisture and positively related to adipose tissue lipid. Simple linear correlations ranged from .80 to .83. However, the relation between adipose tissue composition and ham lipid was not linear over the range of samples studied. Transformation of percent lipid in the ham to log10 improved all correlations to values greater than .84. Multiple correlations from regression analyses between percent lipid in the ham vs adipose tissue moisture combined with subcutaneous fat depth or muscle size were greater than .907. The highest multiple correlation (.962) and lowest standard error of the estimate was obtained when percent adipose tissue moisture, subcutaneous fat depth at the 10th rib and weight of the biceps femoris muscle were used to estimate log percent lipid in the ham. Copyright © 1977. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science.