A comparison of intact and degraded desmin in cooked and uncooked pork longissimus thoracis and their relationship to pork quality.

The objective was to compare desmin abundance (intact, degraded, and the ratio of intact desmin to degraded desmin) in samples from cooked and uncooked pork and establish its relationship to pork quality traits. Pork chops (2.54-cm thick) from twenty-four pork loins were randomly assigned to treatment (cooked or uncooked). Intact and degraded desmin in cooked and uncooked chops aged 1d were weakly correlated (r<|0.35|) with Warner-Bratzler shear force at 1 and 14d postmortem aging. Intact and degraded desmin in cooked and uncooked chops aged 14d were moderately correlated (|0.35|<r<|0.59|) with Warner-Bratzler shear force at 1 and 14d postmortem aging. Intact:degraded desmin in cooked and uncooked pork aged 1 and 14d was generally weakly correlated (r<|0.35|) with pork quality traits, with only a few exceptions. This research supports previous reports that the same sample can be used for tenderness of cooked pork and the determination of desmin abundance.