@article{mmb 9494, author = {Francisco Najar-Villarreal, Elizabeth A. E. Boyle, Terry Houser, Randall Phebus, Christopher I. Vahl, John Gonzalez, Travis O'Quinn, John Wolf, Daniel Vega}, title = {Effect of Extended Hanging Time on the Microbial Quality of Pork Carcasses and Blade Steaks}, volume = {4}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.iastatedigitalpress.com/mmb/article/id/9494/}, issue = {1}, doi = {10.22175/mmb.9494}, abstract = {To evaluate the effect of extended post-harvest hanging time on pork carcass sides (<i>n</i> = 20), aerobic plate count (APC), Enterobacteriaceae, yeast and mold populations, pH, and moisture content were determined. Pork carcasses were sampled on d 1, 7, 14, and 21 to determine their microbial quality from the lean tissue of 3 anatomical locations, the flank, shoulder, and jowl. After the 21-d extended hanging time, pork shoulder butts (<i>n</i> = 17) (Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications #406; USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, 2014) were fabricated from these carcasses into 2.54-cm pork blade steaks. Pork blade steaks were vacuum packaged, stored up to 35 d at 0°C ± 1°C, and evaluated for APC, Enterobacteriaceae, yeast and mold populations, and pH on d 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35. Pork carcass surface moisture content declined (<i>P</i> < 0.01) from 65.1% on d 1 to 50.5% on d 21. The carcass pH was similar (<i>P</i> > 0.42) at 5.88 on d 1, 7, and 14; however, the pH declined (<i>P</i> < 0.05) to 5.72 at d 21. Pork carcass APC populations remained relatively low during the extended hanging time; however, the jowl had the highest (<i>P</i> < 0.05) APC populations among all anatomical locations. In addition, the proportion of yeast populations above the detection limit for the jowl was found to be greatest (<i>P</i> < 0.05) compared to the flank and the shoulder. Pork blade steak APC population was 5.06 log colony-forming units/g (CFU/g) on d 35; however, these counts were below 10<sup>8</sup> log CFU/g, which is when meat is considered spoiled. There was a day effect for Enterobacteriaceae and mold populations (<i>P</i> < 0.05). These results indicate that pork carcasses and vacuum-packaged steaks fabricated from pork carcasses have acceptable microbial quality when they undergo an extended hanging time.}, month = {2}, keywords = {pork carcass,microbial,pork blade steaks,extended storage}, issn = {2575-985X}, publisher={Iowa State University Digital Press}, journal = {Meat and Muscle Biology} }