The accuracy of Slovenian method for pig carcass classification

Abstract: Our objective was to evaluate the accuracy of Slovenian method for meat percentage evaluation of pig carcasses (fat and muscle measurements at the level of m. gluteus medius at the carcass split-line using electronic caliper). The study was performed within EU funded project EUPIGCLASS as a part of the study of the accuracy of the on-line methods used in European countries. Therefore, the common experimental plan and ISO 5725 standard were respected. According to later, the accuracy refers to the closeness of agreement between test results under repeatability or reproducibility conditions, and is expressed as standard deviation (sd). The aim was to assess the repeatability sd and reproducibility sd of meat percentage evaluation, and to identify influence of the copy of the equipment and of the operator. For Slovenian method, repeatability sd was 0.4%, indicating we can expect 1 % difference for the same carcass made by the same operator with the same copy of the equipment; reproducibility sd was 0.7%, indicating 1.8 % difference can be expected for the same carcass due to factors related to the abattoir. The variation due to the copy of the equipment was minor (sd=0.1%) compared to the operator’s effect (sd=0.5%). Slovenian results are situated somewhere in the middle, if related to the results for other methods (an article in preparation). In general, results point out the necessity for regular maintenance of instruments and training of operators in order to maintain the precision at an acceptable level. The recommendations (QAP) have been proposed by EUPIGCLASS project (www.eupigclass.org)