Nutrient Composition of Fresh Retail Pork

Abstract
The nutrient composition of fresh pork was studied in samples from 71 carcasses. On separable lean, nutrient composition was determined for 7 raw retail cuts from one side of each of 11 carcasses, and nutrient retention was determined on the 7 matching cuts from the other side that had been cooked by common household methods. Loins from 60 additional carcasses were analyzed to determine whether USDA grades 1, 2, and 3 and region of production affected nutrient composition. The data indicated that variation in nutrient composition of pork is more dependent on the retail cut within the carcass than either the grade or the region of production of the carcass. Cooking method significantly affected retention of most of the nutrients analyzed.