[MAK]

Can anyone help please.
We home killed and butchered 2 pigs last week. Nil of note except that the flesh of one pig was much wetter than the other and its flesh very pink.
We have dry cured bacon for 5-6 days and the streaky rashers are fine. Today we sliced some thicker mid-back bacon and noticed dark spots within the main belly of the muscle. We are unsure from which pig this bacon came from or if other bacon cuts will look the same. No metal has been in contact with the bacon whilst curing. We have yet to slice other pieces that will need drying and chilling down.
Any thoughts ?

[P6te]

Hi,

I may be wrong but I recollect this being raised previously. If you have a look here http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=28117.msg278645#msg278645 you'll see the similarity.

The answer given then by Lill was 'they have had stress either before slaughter or in the slaughterhouse'

I don't know whether this helps in this instance or not?

Pete
 

[ppd]

That was the thread that i was thinking of too, but could not find it!
But Mak, didn't you home slaughter? So should have been much more stress free?
Not much help I'm afraid 
Pauline

[RaisinHall Tamworths]

If you google blood splash in meat there are a few different articles on it.  I'm not sure how to do a link, sorry 

[MAK]

Many thanks everyone. The links to blood "splash" related to stress fits the bill. Sadley one of us ( farm hand) did not shut the door and one pig found an esacape passing her mate that had just been dispatched. She hit the wall on her way back in to her sty. It did not go as well as last time in that it was about the same as if I had been trying to get them on a truck. Oh - the same bit of bacon had a greenish oily sheen in parts too. The other cuts are fine so maybe it was localised trauma with stress.
I do feel a bit sad and slightly angry with my "HELPER"  that my girl got stressed after such a happy life.

[Mrs Snoodles]

Oh MAK, really sorry to hear that.  You tried your best and well, her life would have been a zillion times better than what the vast vast majority of pigs would have had to suffer. 

[Tamsaddle]

That is a very interesting observation, that immediate stress just before slaughter could have such a noticeable effect on the meat.    Something to bear in mind the next time I take mine up to the abattoir, though thankfully it has all been very smooth going - so far.    I'm glad it is only affecting a tiny bit of your meat, and as Mrs. S said, she had a very happy life before that, which is much more important.   Tamsaddle   

[SallyintNorth]

I would feel upset and angry too - but these things happen, and everyone will take that little extra care next time. 

We all cherish the idea of them having perfectly happy lives followed by stress-free deaths in blissful ignorance - but it can't go 100% right all of the time.  She had a lovely life, and pigs get moments of stress in their lives - I doubt very much if she was aware of what was about to happen, so to her it would just have been one of those moments. 

Have a hug  , cos if it'd happened to me, I'd need one.     And then enjoy your bacon. 

[Tiva Diva]

We had one carcass with blood splash out of a batch of 4 we sent at the same time. It isn't always caused by stress, it can be caused by inadequate bleeding of the carcass, that's what we think happened to ours as there was no reason for it to have been stressed. Is that possibly what happened with yours?

[MKay]

its known as PSE PORCINE STRESS EXUDATE. some get it some dont even if treated the same. and some pigs have a genetic fault that makes them prone to it. commersial breeders test for and cull it in new lines. like people what stresses one will not bother another even in siblings.