Boneless cured pork was produced from combinations of pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) and red, firm, and non-exudative (RFN) semimembranosus muscle differing in amount of modified food starch (MFS), sodium caseinate (SC), and soy protein concentrate (SPC). Response Surface Methodology was utilized to determine the effects of these adjuncts on water holding capacity, color, and texture. Both RFN pork and PSE pork were selected based on visual color for the following five treatments for processing: 100 % PSE, 75% PSE +25 % RFN, 50 % PSE+ 50 % RFN, 25 % PSE +75 % RFN, and 100 % RFN. Fifteen ingredient combinations for each PSE and RFN treatment combination yielded 75 treatments per replication. Three replications of each treatment were completed. Chemical composition and color of raw materials also were measured and used as covariates to determine their effect on the above-mentioned responses.

Utilization of SC decreased (p<0.05) cooking loss, lightness, and cohesiveness. SPC incorporation decreased (p<0.05) cooking loss, cohesiveness, and redness, and MFS inclusion decreased (p<0.05) expressible moisture and cohesiveness. Utilization of SC and MFS increased (p<0.05) redness and SPC incorporation increased (p<0.05) yellowness. Results indicated that combining soy protein concentrate and modified food starch together in formulations demonstrated the greatest potential of these adjuncts to improve water binding, color, and texture in pale, soft, and exudative pork. Utilization of combinations of these adjuncts demonstrates potential to improve protein functionality in PSE as well as RFN pork. This research also demonstrated that diluting RFN pork with no more than 25 % PSE pork allows the formation of a high quality boneless deli ham roll.