Biochemical Properties of Pork and Their Relationship to Quality III. Degree of Saturation and Moisture Content of Subcutaneous Fata,b

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Degree of unsaturation and the moisture content of subcutaneous fatty tissue were compared to certain quantitative and qualitative traits of 247 pork carcasses. Degree of unsaturation and percent moisture of this tissue decreased as the fat content of the young animal increased; with mature packer sows, however, this pattern was not evident. Subcutaneous fat depots containing a greater amount of moisture and a relatively higher content of unsaturated fatty acids as determined by iodine number, were related to softer and leaner pork carcasses and were associated with less favorable palatability characteristics. Because lean, less firm carcasses possessed less intramuscular fat and therefore yielded pork cuts that generally had less desirable palatability, the subcutaneous fat characteristics may be associated only indirectly with quality attributes. Neither extent of unsaturation nor moisture content of the subcutaneous fatty tissue was related to the odor, as measured subjectively, of heated samples of fat.

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