Pigs from four commercial packing facilities were utilized to characterize the impact of downer pigs on meat quality and the impact of respiratory health on downer pigs. Lungs of downer pigs were evaluated for pneumonia and the pH of the longissimus was measured at approximately 45 min postmortem on 246 carcasses. At approximately 24 h postmortem, subjective color, marbling, firmness of the loin, carcass conformation, gender, objective loin color and ultimate pH of the longissimus were determined on 229 carcasses. Muscle score, 45 min pH and lung score averaged 2.14, 6.32 and 1.67, respectively. Subjective color, marbling, firmness, Minolta L‐value, pH and drip loss averaged 3.75, 2.72, 3.16, 45.72, 6.00 and 1.91%, respectively. Downer pigs tended to produce pork that was dark in color with a relatively high ultimate pH and low drip loss. Virtually no relationship was observed between downer pigs and lung score.

Chemical, physical, and sensory characteristics of low-fat beef patties containing carbohydrate-lipid composites (CLCs) were compared with those of all-beef patties. The CLC gels contained high-amylose cornstarch, maltodextrins, and canola oil. CLC patties had higher moisture, cooking yield, and fat retention than 20%-fat control patties. CLCs improved tenderness and juiciness and decreased cohesiveness of low-fat beef patties compared with 10%-fat control patties. Despite differences in CLC gel firmness, patties made with CLC gels containing corn, potato, and tapioca maltodextrins had similar physical and sensory properties. These results suggest that CLC gels perform well as a partial fat replacer in beef patties while providing flexibility in gel firmness selection.

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A total of 2,158 crossbred pigs was used to evaluate the effects of feeding 7.4 mg/kg ractopamine hydrochloride (RAC) on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of heavy-weight finishing pigs sent to slaughter using a 3-phase marketing strategy. The study was performed from 121.0 ± 4.28 kg to 144.5 ± 4.73 BW using a randomized complete block design (blocking factor was d of start on test) with 2 treatments (0 vs. 7.4 mg/kg RAC). Pigs were housed in a commercial wean-to-finish facility in groups of approximately 25 (44 groups/treatment), with ad libitum access to feed and water throughout the study, and pen weights of pigs were recorded at the start (d 0), and on d 7, 21, and 35 of study. Pigs were sent for slaughter according to the following marketing strategy: 1) after 7 d on RAC, the heaviest 16% of each pen was sent for slaughter (Phase 1), 2) after 21 d on RAC, the next 40% of each pen was sent for slaughter (Phase 2), and 3) after 35 d on RAC, the remaining 44% of each pen was sent for slaughter (Phase 3). Pigs were selected for slaughter by visual appraisal and shipped to a commercial facility where standard carcass measurements (HCW, LM depth, and backfat depth) were measured. Overall, feeding RAC increased (P < 0.001) ADG (18.8%) and G:F (23.7%) compared to the control, but lowered (P < 0.001) ADFI (3.3%). In addition, feeding RAC increased (P < 0.001) HCW (3.9 kg), carcass yield (0.7% units), LM depth (5.0%), and predicted lean content (1.0% units), and reduced backfat depth (6.3% lower) compared to controls. With each subsequent phase of marketing, the magnitude of improvements in response to feeding RAC decreased for ADG (43.1, 20.9, and −3.1% for Phase 1, 2, and 3, respectively) and G:F (37.5, 25.8, and 6.4% for Phase 1, 2, and 3, respectively); however, improvements in HCW (1.6, 4.5, and 4.2 kg for Phase 1, 2, and 3, respectively), carcass yield (0.2, 0.6, and 0.9% units for Phase 1, 2, and 3, respectively), LM depth (2.3, 5.7, and 5.2% for Phase 1, 2, and 3, respectively), and predicted lean content (0.2, 1.0, and 1.3% units for Phase 1, 2, and 3, respectively) generally increased from feeding RAC. These results suggest that while improvements in growth performance from feeding RAC will generally decline after 21 d of feeding, improvements in carcass traits, particularly carcass yield and lean content, will continue with feeding RAC until d 35.