The relationships of fat thickness and muscle depth with grade yield in pork carcasses

Abstract

Under the Canadian pork grading system, grade yield, a function of fat thickness and muscle depth, is estimated from a prediction equation derived from a national sample. Data from the 1992 National project (Québec, n = 306; Ontario, n = 306; Alberta, n = 262) are used to examine the relevancy of a national sampling on these relationships. Regional origin did not have an effect (P > 0.05) on the relationship of grade yield with fat thickness whereas it did (P < 0.05) for the relationship with muscle depth. Key words: Canada pork grading, grade yield , fat thickness, muscle depth, sampling