DFD meat

Dark, Firm and Dry (DFD) meat results from exhaustion, and thus from a depletion of glycogen before slaughter. This causes high pH- values, and as a result the meat has an enhanced capacity to hold water which gives it a dry and sticky texture. Such meat is aesthetically unacceptable to many consumers and bacterial growth is difficult to prevent even under stringent sanitary conditions. Thus the meat, even when vacuum-packed, has poor keeping quality and a low palatability.
Meat from pigs treated differently at the day of slaughter resulting in different quality measured as pH and drip-loss. Photo: DMRI