Potassium carbonate and fresh pork quality traits
What it found
In pork loins, potassium carbonate at 0.3% and 0.5% kept redness, reduced yellowness, lowered cooking loss, and maintained tenderness compared with sodium tripolyphosphate.
The work was done on meat samples, not people.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Colour kept, yellowness down
At 0.3% and 0.5%, potassium carbonate maintained redness and decreased yellowness compared with sodium tripolyphosphate.
Less cooking loss
The 0.3% and 0.5% potassium carbonate treatments reduced cooking loss compared with sodium tripolyphosphate.
Tenderness maintained
Tenderness was maintained at 0.3% and 0.5% potassium carbonate compared with sodium tripolyphosphate.
Protein extraction
SDS-PAGE analysis showed that both potassium carbonate and sodium tripolyphosphate extracted myosin heavy chain.
What the authors conclude
“Combined, these data suggest that K 2 CO 3 may function as an alternative to STP in the fresh pork industry provided microbial safety and shelf-life are appropriately controlled.”
Also in their conclusions
- They suggest that potassium carbonate may work as an alternative to sodium tripolyphosphate in the fresh pork industry.
- They add that this depends on microbial safety and shelf-life being appropriately controlled.
How it was done
Meat processors use sodium tripolyphosphate to improve colour, water-holding capacity and tenderness, but consumer acceptance of it has fallen, so alternatives are needed.
Boneless centre-cut pork loins were enhanced with a negative control, 0.3% sodium tripolyphosphate, or 0.1%, 0.3% or 0.5% potassium carbonate. The loins were cut into chops, stored under simulated retail display, and tested for colour, pH, cooking loss and tenderness.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This was a test on pork loins, not on people, so it cannot show how potassium carbonate affects human health.
- The study did not test microbial safety or shelf-life, so it cannot show whether those are controlled.
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 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error