The association of P2 and lean % estimates from commercial measurement systems with computed tomography determined composition within Australian pork abattoirs

Abstract

Pork carcasses were obtained from three abattoirs in Australia (n = 345) where technologies enabled collection of post slaughter measures of P2 fat depth (mm) (Hennessy Grading Probe (HGP), AutoFom III, PorkScan Lite) and estimates of carcass lean % (HGP, AutoFom III, PorkScan Plus). Computed tomography (CT) was used to scan carcasses and determine lean and fat %, with the strength of associations with abattoir measurement devices determined. The AutoFom III lean % demonstrated the strongest associations with whole carcass CT lean % (R² 0.63, RMSE 1.73) and fat % (R² 0.68, RMSE 1.80) and with section (fore, loin, belly and hind) CT composition. The association of P2 from AutoFom III was lower in comparison, however remained superior to other commercial devices (PorkScan Lite and HGP). Porkscan Plus lean % demonstrated moderate associations with whole carcass and section CT lean and fat %, with R² values generally less than half those of the AutoFom III. The HGP demonstrated weakest associations with CT lean and fat % using either lean % or P2 outputs, which is likely related to data being collected from only the P2 measurement site. This is the first experiment to compare the strength of associations between multiple pork abattoir measurement devices and CT lean and fat % in Australia. P2 is the current industry standard for the assessment of lean yield in pork, however demonstrates weaker associations with carcass CT composition than devices capable of capturing multiple measures across the carcass like AutoFom III and PorkScan Plus.