Tools for pork quality control
Objective
A Q-PorkChains team consisting of scientists and industry partners will focus on the development of new meat quality control tools to assure consumer satisfaction.
Background
A group of scientists and industry partners will study how thousands of genes and proteins are activated at slaughter in the pig, and further track how this is reflected in the meat quality the consumer perceives at the dinner table. The group is focusing on tools to predict the quality resulting from particular breeds and pre-slaughter treatments.
When the consumer stands in front of the refrigerated counter and wonders which meat to choose in order to get a juicy, tender and tasty cut, this turns out to be quite a challenging task, because there are no quality ratings on the available meat.
The consumers’ demand for quality-rated meat corresponds very well to the farmers’ and slaughterhouses’ aim to produce the meat products in demand. When consumers and farmers request the same, it ought to be easy to achieve the common goal: The demanded meat products at the right price.
However, it is difficult to control in practice, how pork develops during animal growth. Many factors influence meat quality, e.g. breed, environment, feed, stress during transportation, slaughter method, and carcass and meat handling postslaughter. Many of these factors depend on the individual farm.
Expected Results
This Q-PorkChains researcher team aspires to equip the industry with molecular tools (biomarkers) which can be used for the production of high added value pork meat and pork meat products, at all stages in the chain from fork to farm.
Participants
The Q-PorkChains researcher team is managed by:
University of Aarhus (AU-DJF) 
Institute of Animal Science and Health (ASGV) 
French Institute for Agronomy Research (INRA)
Involved Industries in this Q-PorkChains team:
Danish Crown
France Hybrides
Pig Improvement Company UK Limited