The increased application of temperature legislation in many countries. coupled with economic requirements to maximise throughput, minimise weight loss and operate refrigeration systems in the most efficient manner, has created a very large demand for process design data on all aspects of
The appearance of meat at its point of sale is the most important quality attribute governing its purchase. The ratio of fat to lean and the amount of marbled fat are important appearance factors and another is the colour of the meat. The changes in colour of the muscle and blood pigments (myoglobin and haemoglobin, respectively) determine the attractiveness
The quality of fresh meat exposed for retail sale is initially judged on its appearance. The presence of exudate or'drip', which accumulates in the container of prepackaged meat or in trays or dishes of unwrapped meat, substantially reduces its sales appeal (Malton and James, 1983). Drip can be referred to by a number of different names including purge loss',press loss'and 'thaw loss'depending on the method of measurement and when it is measured. In general, beef tends to lose proportionately more drip than pork or lamb. Since most of the exudate comes from the cut ends of muscle fibres
