Meta-Regression Analysis of Relationships between Fibre Type and Meat Quality in Beef and Pork—Focus on Pork

Abstract

This meta-regression analysis was conducted to identify the relationship between fibretype cross-sectional area (CSA) and frequency (%) and meat quality traits, especially tenderness (sensory and Warner-Bratzler Shear Force, WBSF). Literature searches were conducted using specific keywords which resulted in 32 peer-reviewed manuscripts that contained averages and correlation coefficients for fibre type (frequency and CSA) and quality traits of longissimus muscle for beef and pork (7 and 25 studies respectively). Correlations were analysed in meta-regression using R-Studio and linear regression was also conducted. For the combined beef and pork analysis, only pH, WBSF, and drip loss were associated with fibre type frequency and CSA (p p p < 0.05 for all). Future research should focus on fibre type across breeds and muscles to further understand the impacts of fibre type frequency and CSA on quality.

Keywords

• fibre type
• tenderness
• pork quality
• WBSF
• muscle
• beef