INFLUENCE OF PRERIGOR AND POSTRIGOR MUSCLE ON THE BACTERIOLOGICAL AND QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF PORK SAUSAGE

The right and left sides of three market‐weight pigs were assigned to two treatments, designated prerigor and postrigor, for pork sausage manufacture. Muscle and fat were obtained from the right side within 1 hr after slaughter and were immediately processed into sausage referred to as prerigor sausage. The left side of the carcass was chilled for 6 days at 2°C. The sausage made from this tissue is referred to as postrigor sausage. The sausage samples were stuffed into 0.45‐kg packages and stored at 2–5°C or °22°C for 8 wk. The pH values, bacterial counts, cooking loss and taste palatability traits were investigated on fresh and frozen samples representing the prerigor and postrigor groups. The prerigor sausage samples stored at 2–5°C had significantly higher pH values, higher total aerobic mesophiles and lipolytic bacterial counts, higher juiciness and overall acceptance scores and a lower cooking loss than did the samples prepared from the postrigor muscle. No significant difference was found in total aerobic psychrotrophs and flavor score, but the sausage made from prerigor muscle had slightly higher values. The period of storage at 2–5°C influenced the bacterial counts and 911 taste panel scores. The sausage stored at °22°C was similar to the nonfrozen samples for taste panel comparisons. Copyright © 1979, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved