The PSE problem. A case study of an Irish abbatoir

Abstract

Pork is one of the world’s most popular meats with over 80 million tonnes produced annually. Pork output in Ireland increased by over 90% in the period from 1988 to 2002 and has been stable since then. As a result any decrease in quality has a major impact on the Irish economy. In this study the quality defect of PSE was investigated and its prevelance and economic impact in Ireland was determined.