Is Pork Red or White meat?
Differences Between Red and White Meat
Red meat is the muscle meat of mammals or livestock, excluding poultry. Red meat is dark in color due to its high content of iron-containing pigment myoglobin. Myoglobin is a protein found in muscles that gives meat its color. While pork can vary in color, it generally has a reddish hue when raw and can turn brown when cooked. This contrasts with "white meat" in poultry like chicken and turkey.
Classification of Pork
Based on these descriptions, pork is scientifically classified as red meat (1).
Pork is the meat of hogs or domestic swine. Processed forms of pork include ham, sausages, and bacon.
However, pork is lighter in color even after cooking compared to other red meats, such as beef. By the culinary definition, white meat is light in color before and after cooking. Because of this, pork is often classified as white meat from a culinary point of view.
Compared to beef, pork is lower in iron; however, it still contains more than poultry or fish.
In short, while pork is lighter in color and lower in fats, it is scientifically classified as red meat due to its high content of iron and myoglobin.
Due to red meat's adverse health impact, limiting the average pork consumption is recommended, especially in its processed forms.
References
