Scratching Pork Quality Issues Off ‘The List’
The pork industry has come a long way toward addressing pork quality concerns, thanks to nearly two decades of focus on red-flag areas that potentially impact consumers’ decisions
The pork industry has come a long way toward addressing pork quality concerns, thanks to nearly two decades of focus on red-flag areas that potentially impact consumers’ decisions at the meat case.
“The 1993 National Pork Board-sponsored Pork Chain Quality Audit resulted in a list of non-conformities for different market segments that significantly impacted live animal, carcass and pork cut value,” explains Roger Johnson, director of pork quality at Farmland Foods, Inc.
Reflecting on a short list of industry changes he has seen over the years, Johnson offered these thoughts:
• Excessive fat, inadequate color and water-holding capacity — These three carcass characteristics topped the list of concerns in 1993. “I think we have addressed these three issues from an industry standpoint extremely well,” Johnson states.
Genetic and nutritional programs have helped producers make real progress in reducing fat, which has a direct impact on consumer perceptions.
“I assure you, we would not be holding our position today with regard to demand and consumption if we had not addressed the fat problem. Furthermore, if color and water-holding capacity had not been improved, pork consumption would be greatly reduced because other protein sources would have provided a superior product in the eyes of the consumer,” Johnson says.
• Inconsistent weights (live, carcass, primal cuts) — Packers depend on consistent weights and quality and, therefore, have used premiums and discounts to direct producers toward preferred weight and lean percentage parameters.