The effect of lairage time and carcass traits of pigs on the appearance of subcutaneous veining defect in hams

Abstract

The incidence of veining defect was quantified on 1,919 pigs slaughtered in three consecutive days in one commercial slaughterhouse in Slovenia. Veining defect was evaluated after rapid chilling with subjective method proposed by Russo et al. (2003). Hams were graded into four classes, from none to heavy defect. Around 30% hams belonged to class 1, 60% to class 2 and 6% to class 3. There was practically no ham in class 4. Prolonged lairage time (more than 3 h) increased the incidence of veining defect. Hanging carcass on one foot during exsanguination also increased veining defect compared to the counterpart. Carcass weight increase from 60 to 100 kg also increased the incidence of veining defect, while further increase of carcass weight had no effect on veining defect. With increased muscle thickness, decreased fat thickness and increased lean meat percentage the incidence of veining defect also increased.