Postmortem pH, Muscle, and Refrigerated Storage Effects on Ability of Vacuum-Packaged Pork to Bloom

ABSTRACT: Effects of pH, muscle, and storage time on the ability of vacuum-packaged pork chops to bloom were investigated. Low pH samples exhibited more change in color measures during the 30 min blooming period than did the medium and high pH samples. The low pH sample bloomed more rapidly and to a greater extent than medium and high pH samples. Among the 3 muscles, Longissimus had the highest, while Semimembranosus had the lowest a^* value and hue angle changes. Overall, refrigerated storage of vacuum packaged pork for 7 d or more resulted in more efficient blooming when pH was low. The ability of vacuum-packaged pork to rebloom is necessary for the meat to regain the consumer-expected pink-red color after opening the vacuum bag.