Professor Ken Prusa, teaching food science and human
nutrition at Iowa
State University
, said that the darker the pork, the higher the pH and the less
acid it contains. The acid is unwanted, since it damages muscle proteins and
causes meat to be pale, watery and sour.
Prusa described the flavour of the darker meat as sweeter, nuttier, more
tender, juicy and flavourful.
To increase pH levels, Prusa said there must be attention paid to genetics
and slaughtering practices. There is a necessity to keep the animal calm during
slaughter, because stress creates adrenaline, causing a rapid pH decline.
There should also be a rest period between transport and slaughter, to keep
the animals relaxed. Newer forms of stunning the animal can also help.
As the American National Pork Board has been marketing pork as "The Other
White Meat" as an alternative to poultry, the industry has been looking at pH
values for a while now. Spokeswoman Ceci Snyder said, "From our own
experience, we know that the product tastes better and we want people to have a
good experience, so we will need to educate about choosing darker
colour."
