A total of 40 pens containing 22 crossbred barrows (initial BW = 43.07 ± 1.61 kg; PIC 1050 × PIC 337 genetics) were housed in a commercial wean to finish facility. Pens were randomly allotted to dietary treatments in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with 2 levels of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS; 0% or 20%) and chosen for 1 of 3 marketing cuts removing 4, 8, and 10 animals from each pen. Fat tissue samples were removed from the anterior tip of the jowl and posterior to the sternum on the belly edge 1d postmortem. Fatty acid composition was determined via the Folch method, and iodine values (IV) were calculated from chemical titrations, fatty acid profile (GC IV), and in-plant Bruker near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Pearson's correlation coefficients for IV determination methods were estimated. Inclusion of 20% DDGS did not change ( > 0.05) growth performance, whereas marketing cut affected performance, with the second cut producing the most efficient pigs ( < 0.01). Total SFA and MUFA concentrations were higher ( < 0.01) in belly and jowl fat from pigs fed 0% DDGS. Total PUFA and the PUFA:SFA in belly and jowl fat was higher ( < 0.01) when 20% DDGS was fed. Dried distillers grains with solubles inclusion increased IV in belly and jowl as determined by all 3 methods. Regardless of dietary treatment or fat depot, Pearson correlation coefficients between titration and GC IV, titration and NIR, and GC IV and NIR were 0.46 ( < 0.01), 0.68 ( < 0.01), and 0.43 ( < 0.01), respectively. These correlations suggest methods may rank samples equally but do not provide the same absolute IV. Belly fat had a lower IV ( < 0.01) than jowl fat using titration or GC IV methods, suggesting pigs have varied degrees of physiological maturity at specific fat depots when weight end points are used during the finishing phase. In conclusion, feeding 20% DDGS negatively affected fat quality but not growth performance, and marketing time changed growth performance.

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Dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), which have partially replaced traditional livestock feedstuffs in recent years, contain unsaturated dietary fat that can lead to changes in the characteristics of pork fat with subsequent effects on further processed meat products. The objective of this study was to determine the impact that swine diets with varying levels (control, high, withdrawal, step down, and low concentrations) of DDGS had on the quality of fresh bratwursts and bacon. Iodine values showed that meat from animals fed higher concentrations of DDGS contained more unsaturated fats, and texture profile analysis confirmed that bacon fat was firmer in the control. In fresh bratwursts, increased dietary concentrations of DDGS negatively impacted color stability, lipid oxidation and texture of bratwursts. While fewer negative quality impacts were observed in bacon than in bratwursts, this study indicated that DDGS fed at these levels can negatively impact certain processed meat quality attributes. Practical Applications Dietary dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) are known to affect quality of fresh pork fat, predominantly by increasing the amount of unsaturated fatty acids. As an important component of processed meat products, it is critical to understand the impact of this altered fat on processed meat quality. Pork from pigs fed varied concentrations of DDGS was used to manufacture fresh bratwursts and bacon, which were evaluated for quality factors such as color, texture and lipid oxidation. Traditional laboratory analysis methods were followed along with novel, simple methods that would allow the evaluation of pork fat quality by small meat processors who may not have access to sophisticated equipment for more advanced analysis. This study not only reports impacts of DDGS on bacon and fresh bratwurst quality but also provides novel methods for fat quality analysis to be applied by the meat industry.

The inflation in food prices throughout time, coupled with a consistently turbulant national economy, has had a significant impact on the food puchasing decisions of many American families. People with higher incomes devote more of their paycheck to the purchase of meat products than do lower income consumers (Regmi, 2001). As people improve their economic status, they diversify their diets and begin to demand higher quality and more convenient products (Regmi, 2001). In addition to income, other factors contribute to the type and quantity of meat that consumers purchase, including preference, leisure time available to prepare food, and, most importantly, relative prices of foods (Regmi, 2001). Sixty-one percent of Americans claim to be sensitive to the recent increase in food prices, and that the high cost has caused them to change their puchasing patterns (McCarty, 2011). Consumers are cutting expenditures where possible, and beef is often on the "chopping block". In 2011, 25.6 billion pounds of beef was consumed in the United States (USDA ERS, 2012), with a per capita intake of 57.4 lbs (USDA ERS, 2012); this is a 9% decline from 62.9 lb in 2001 and a 21% decline from the 72.9 lb per capita intake in 1981 (USDA, 2010). Many price sensitive consumers are "trading out", or substituting other foods, like poultry, completely in place of higher priced beef products (McCarty, 2011). The improved efficiency in the poultry industry makes poultry