Physical-chemical aspects of pork legs

One of the major challenges in pig farming is to produce meat in quantity and with quality, given that consumers are increasingly demanding in this regard. Agribusinesses face serious problems with regard to microbiological contamination of carcasses during slaughter and/or processing. Among the alternatives proposed to decontaminate carcasses during slaughter is the use of organic acids and/or steam to treat the carcass. The objective of this study was to evaluate the possible physical-chemical changes in pork legs subjected to treatment with organic acids, steam, and a combination of both treatments. Visual and sensory analyses of appearance, color, consistency, and odor were performed before and after each treatment, as well as physical-chemical analyses to determine the percentage of lipids, proteins, pH, moisture, and volatiles, also before and after each treatment. The proposed treatments did not alter the physical-chemical quality of the pork, which remained within its ideal standards, fit for human consumption.