Potassium carbonate and fresh pork quality in a lab study
What it found
In lab tests on pork chops, potassium carbonate kept redness, reduced cooking loss, and maintained tenderness as well as sodium tripolyphosphate.
The work was done on meat samples, not in people or animals.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Color of pork chops
In lab tests, pork chops treated with 0.3% or 0.5% potassium carbonate kept their red color and were less yellow than those treated with sodium tripolyphosphate.
Cooking loss
Chops treated with 0.3% or 0.5% potassium carbonate lost less moisture during cooking compared to those treated with sodium tripolyphosphate in these lab tests.
Tenderness of meat
Pork chops treated with 0.3% or 0.5% potassium carbonate stayed as tender as those treated with sodium tripolyphosphate in lab measurements.
Protein extraction
Lab analysis showed that both potassium carbonate and sodium tripolyphosphate pulled out a specific muscle protein called myosin heavy chain from the meat.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest potassium carbonate could work as an alternative to sodium tripolyphosphate in the fresh pork industry.
- The authors note that microbial safety and shelf life must be properly controlled if it is used.
How it was done
Sodium tripolyphosphate is used to improve fresh meat color, water retention, and tenderness, but shoppers are less accepting of it. Scientists looked for an alternative ingredient.
Researchers treated boneless pork loins with five solutions: no additive, 0.3% sodium tripolyphosphate, or potassium carbonate at 0.1%, 0.3%, or 0.5%. They cut the loins into chops, stored them under simulated shop display conditions, and measured color, pH, cooking loss, and tenderness.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This work tested meat samples in a lab, so it cannot show what happens when people eat pork treated with potassium carbonate.
- It did not measure how long the meat stays free from harmful bacteria on shop shelves.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- The Ohio State University, United States of America; The University of Melbourne, Australia
The paper
- Title
- Potassium carbonate improves fresh pork quality characteristics
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- LeMaster MN, Chauhan SS, Wick MP, Clark DL, England EM (2019). Potassium carbonate improves fresh pork quality characteristics. Meat science. doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2019.05.019PubMed 31226650DOI
Summary written 1 Oct 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error