Relationships between Certain Whole Muscles and Measures of Pork Carcass Muscling

Abstract

Weights of five pork muscles from the ham and loin were correlated with each other and compared with other methods currently used to evaluate pork carcass muscling. Partial correlation coefficients, adjusted for differences in side weight, were determined between absolute values of pork carcass characteristics from the right sides of 89 carcasses. All correlation coefficients between weights of each of the five muscles were significant (P<.01). Although all five muscles studied were highly significantly correlated with lean cut weight, the l. dorsi muscle had the highest correlation (0.70). No other single muscling criterion studied was more highly related to lean cut weight than was l. dorsi muscle weight. Area of the l. dorsi muscle at either the 10th or last rib was significantly (P<.01) correlated with weight of volume of muscle, as well as with all muscles studied. Since area of the l. dorsi at the last rib was almost as highly correlated with lean cut weight as weight of the muscle itself, these data indicate that area of the l. dorsi muscle is a reliable measure of lean cuts. Area of the l. dorsi at this location accounted for 40% of the variation, while back-fat thickness accounted for only 16% of the variation in lean cut weight. Copyright © 1965. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1965 by American Society of Animal Science