the objective of this study was to determine whether light backscatter response from fresh pork meat emulsions is correlated to final product stability indices. for that, a specially designed fiber optic measurement system was used in combination with a miniature fiber optic spectrometer to determine the intensity of light scatter within the wavelength range 300-1100 nm at different radial distances (2, 2.5 and 3 mm) with respect to the light source in fresh pork meat emulsions with two fat levels (15, 30%) and two levels (0, 2.5%) of hydrolyzed potato protein (hpp), a natural antioxidant. textural parameters (hardness, deformability, cohesiveness and breaking force), cielab colour coordinates and tbars (1, 2, 3, and 7 days of storage at 4?c) of cooked emulsions were also measured. several optically derived parameters were found to be significantly correlated with emulsion stability parameters. the light backscatter was directly correlated with breaking force, colour and tbars. based on the strongest correlations developed, an optical configuration is proposed that would compensate for the emulsion heterogeneity, maximizing the existing correlation between the optical signal and the emulsion quality metrics.