Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Submitted December 3, 2025
Published 2025-12-23

Revisión Bibliográfica

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2025): Revista investigaciones agropecuarias

Pork meat quality : a review of ante mortem and post mortem determinant factors


DOI https://doi.org/10.48204/j.ia.v8n1.a8828

Cover image

References
DOI: 10.48204/j.ia.v8n1.a8828

Published: 2025-12-23

How to Cite

Bonilla, P., Mudarra, R., Sánchez., V., & Solís, C. (2025). Pork meat quality : a review of ante mortem and post mortem determinant factors. Journal of Agricultural Research, 8(1), 96–110. https://doi.org/10.48204/j.ia.v8n1.a8828

Abstract

The quality of pork meat results from a complex interaction among biological, environmental, and technological factors that operate throughout the entire production chain. Ante mortem factors such as genetics, nutrition, management, sex, age, and animal welfare determine muscle composition and the metabolic response of the animal at slaughter. In contrast, post mortem factors including chilling rate, pH, electrical stimulation (ES), acidification, aging, and storage influence the biochemical processes of meat, largely determining its sensory and technological properties such as color, flavor, tenderness, maturation, water-holding capacity, and carcass yield. Evidence gathered in this review indicates that stress levels, glycogen availability, and carcass acidification rate are directly related to the occurrence of quality defects such as PSE (pale, soft, and exudative) and DFD (dark, firm, and dry) meat. This highlights the importance of analyzing the interactions between ante and post slaughter factors to optimize production processes, reduce losses, and obtain products that meet current demands for quality, safety, and processing.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Most read articles by the same author(s)