Porcine Biceps Femoris Transcriptome

Pork color is a major indicator of product quality that guides consumer purchasing decisions. Recently, industry has received an increase in consumer complaints about the lightness and non-uniformity of ham color, primarily lighter color in the periphery, termed ham halo, that is not caused by manufacturing procedures. This effect is seen in fresh and processed hams and the outer, lighter muscle is associated with lower myoglobin concentrations, pH and type I fibers. The objective of this study was to identify differences in gene expression profiles between light and normal colored biceps femoris muscle from pork hams.