Abstract: To investigate the effect of ultrasonic cleaning treatment on the quality of pork, the water-holding capacity, nutrients, shear force, and flavor compounds of raw pork washed by ultrasonicfor 0–­30 minutes were measured, and the data obtained were evaluated by principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) values of pork treated by ultrasonic for 30 minutes were the lowest, (8.45 mg/100 g and 0.36 mg/kg, respectively), and the shear force significantly decreased to 33.92 N. The pork treated by ultrasonic for 20 minutes had the lowest pressing loss (17.99%). Ultrasonic cleaning could cause slight loss of trace metal elements, but did not affect the nutritional composition, cooking loss, or pH of pork. Compared with the control group, the relative contents of aldehydes and alcohols in the ultrasonic treated pork significantly decreased, the types and relative contents of hydrocarbon acid ketone esters significantly increased, and the overall flavor was improved. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) of electronic nose data showed that there was a correlation between the flavor improvement and the duration of ultrasonic cleaning treatment. PCA results showed that the quality of pork was significantly different before and after ultrasonic cleaning. In summary, appropriate ultrasonic cleaning improved the water-holding capacity and tenderness of pork, and significantly improved its storage quality and flavor, but had little impact on its nutrients.

Key words: ultrasonic treatment; nutrient composition; shear force; flavor substances; principal component analysis