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. 2017 Nov;95(11):4958–4970. doi: 10.2527/jas2017.1674

Table 2.

Population summary statistics of belly quality traits and fresh and cured ham quality

Variable No. Mean Median SD Minimum Maximum CV
HCW, kg 7,576 94.72 94.45 9.41 53.18 129.55 9.93
Belly quality
    Flop score1 3,646 2.05 2.00 0.84 0.50 5.00 40.95
    Length, cm 3,648 68.15 68.13 4.24 51.88 83.13 6.23
    Width, cm 3,647 35.35 35.63 2.41 26.88 43.75 6.81
    Average depth, cm 3,648 2.49 2.50 0.41 0.83 3.96 16.59
Fresh ham quality
    Gluteus profundus2
        L* 7,418 40.60 40.31 3.61 22.88 56.98 8.89
        a* 7,418 15.79 15.50 2.18 5.90 27.96 13.79
        b* 7,416 3.73 3.69 1.69 −4.64 14.04 45.25
    Gluteus medius2
        L* 7,422 45.69 45.65 3.37 20.64 68.04 7.38
        a* 7,420 9.09 8.91 1.83 2.83 24.45 20.19
        b* 7,420 2.35 2.23 1.58 −4.23 20.15 67.48
Cured ham quality
    Cured color2
        L* 823 65.97 66.08 2.72 55.93 75.53 4.13
        a* 823 12.22 12.26 1.29 8.13 15.89 10.58
        b* 823 5.54 5.61 0.67 1.18 7.30 12.04
1

A subjective flop score of 0.5 (soft) through 5.0 (firm) in 0.5-unit increments was assigned to each belly. Subjective flop scores were anchored such that a score of 0.5 was characterized as an approximate flop distance of less than 5 cm, a score of 1 was 5.1 to 10 cm, a score of 2 was 10.1 to 15 cm, a score of 3 was 15.1 to 20 cm, a score of 4 was 20.1 to 25 cm, and a score of 5 was greater than 25 cm.

2

L* measures darkness to lightness (greater L* value indicates a lighter color), a* measures redness (greater a* value indicates a redder color), and b* measures yellowness (greater b* value indicates a more yellow color). Fresh ham color values were 1 reading per sample. Cured color values were the average of 4 readings per sample.