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Prediction of Pork Belly Composition Using Various Measurement of the Carcass or Belly¹

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843

Abstract

As a means of developing a procedure for evaluating the merit of pork bellies for producing sliced bacon, measurements and evaluations were obtained for each of a group of 100 carcasses and for one untrimmed belly from each carcass. Each belly was subsequently skinned and then thoroughly ground and mixed for analysis of fat content of the entire untrimmed belly. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was employed to determine the carcass or belly measures that best identified the variation in percentage lean [100 x (belly weight — chemical fat weight) ÷ belly weight] or average visual leanness score of the cross-sectioned belly. Specific gravity of one side of the carcass was the single measurement that was most closely related to percentage lean or visual leanness score (R² = .63; RSD = 3.34 vs R² = .44; RSD = 1.69, respectively). The same near-optimum subset of most practical independent variables for identifying both percentage lean and average visual leanness score consisted of fat depth at the center of the longissimus muscle at the 10th rib and USDA carcass muscling score. These two variables identified 54% (RSD = 3.73) of the variation in percentage lean and 34% (RSD = 1.84) of the variation in visual leanness score. Of belly measures considered, cross-sectional visual leanness evaluation at one-fourth of the length of the belly from the shoulder end best identified the variation (R² = .55; RSD = 3.86) encountered in percentage lean in the 100 bellies. Carcass measures were almost always superior to belly measures when identifying either percentage lean or average leannes score. if more precision should be desired, less practical methods, such as specific gravity of one side of the carcass, could be included to account for more substantial portions of the variation in composition of pork bellies.

¹ Technical Article 18605 from the Texas Agr. Exp. Sta.

² Meats and Muscle Biol. Sect., Dept. of Anim. Sci.

³ Dept. of Anim. Sci., Prairie View A&M Univ., Prairie View, TX 77445.