Measuring meat and fish pH

Indicator of meat quality and fish freshness

Meat quality is determined by the muscle pH and its change in time, which in turn is strongly dependent on pre-slaughter conditions (i.e. stress) imposed on the animals. Monitoring the pH of slaughtered meat provides a suitable tool to ensure its quality and consequently also good consumer’s experience of the product. Therefore, measuring the pH is common use in the meat industry and even obligatory in some countries.

For fish, the pH value is an indicator for the freshness of the meat, which is fundamental to fish quality. A few hours after death, the glycogen in the muscle will be metabolized to lactic acid causing a drop in pH. This lower pH will contribute to an increased shelf-life of the fish and moreover a good nutritional state of the fish. However, during storage the pH will start to increase, reflecting among others the production of alkaline bacterial metabolites in spoiling fish. The higher the storage temperature, the faster is the increase in pH which can be used as a measurement for quality deterioration and shelf-life prediction in the fish marketing sector. Thus, checking the pH of the fish after a certain period of storage can determine the state of its freshness.

Measurement of pH in meat and fish

In non-frozen meat or fish, the pH can be measured by piercing it with the Sentron LanceFET probe thanks to its tip with stainless steel point. For those situations where high force and stabbing penetration is required, Sentron Wellinq offers the LanceFET probe with a thick handle for a comfortable grip while measuring.