Water holding capacity (WHC) of muscle is one of the most important factors for evaluating the meat qualities and has closely correlation with other characteristics such as color, flavor and tenderness. It is of great value to investigate the influential factors on WHC of meat for improving meat quality and reducing economical losses caused by drip loss in muscles. But very little work has been done in this field throughout our country. Therefore, the latest progress in the study of slaughter factors on muscle WHC at home and abroad is reviewed in this article.
