Effects of slaughter weight and sex on carcass traits and meat quality of Casertana pigs reared outdoors

Abstract

The effects of different slaughter weights (W) and sex (S) on carcass traits and longissimus dorsi meat quality (pH, WHC, colour, cholesterol and collagen) of Casertana pigs were studied. Thirty-six pure breed Casertana pigs, 24 barrows (B) and 12 gilts (G), were evaluated in a 2x2 factorial design involving different slaughter live weights (L, 125.6 kg; H, 152.5 kg) and S (B and G). H pigs had higher carcass weight (P<0.01), dressing percentage (P<0.05), ham yield (+ 7.9 %; P<0.01), lean meat cuts (P<0.01) and backfat thickness (+13.3%; P<0.05), and lower (P<0.01) loin yield and fatty cuts. W did not affect pH and WHC. L pigs produced lighter (P<0.01) and more yellow meat (P<0.01), while H pigs showed lower (P<0.01) hue value. Cholesterol content resulted higher (P<0.05) in H pig meat. Collagen properties were affected by W. Compared to G, B had higher dressing percentage (P<0.05) and backfat thickness (P<0.01), smaller loin area (P<0.01), slightly lower (P<0.08) loin yield and less (P<0.01) lean cuts. S did not affect any meat quality traits

Growth, Carcass and Meat Quality of Casertana, Italian Large White and Duroc x (Landrace x Italian Large White) Pigs Reared Outdoors

“…Conversely, Lan et al (1993) comparing muscle cholesterol content of several genetic types observed significant differences, but not among all breed studied. There are limited information in literature on the cholesterol content of the meat from CT pigs but the values detected in the present study for all the studied samples were quite high than that found by Maiorano et al (2007) and Salvatori et al (2008). The cholesterol content of pork reported in the literature varies.…”

“…Other authors have reported a marked genetic effect on collagen properties in pigs (Lebret et al, 2001), beef (Campo et al, 2000) and lamb (Heinze et al, 1986). In addition, the literature documents growth rate-dependent Growth, carcass and meat quality of pigs shifts in muscle collagen amount and/or crosslinking (Aberle et al, 1981;McCormick, 1994;Harper, 1999;Maiorano et al, 2007). During rapid growth, newly synthesized collagen dilutes older collagen and is less crosslinked than the pre-existing collagen (Etherington, 1987), with a positive effect on meat tenderness (McCormick, 1994).…”

“…Interest in intensive outdoor pig production is also growing in Italy (Maiorano et al, 2007;Pietrolà et al, 2006). These alternatives to traditional indoor systems may also become more common as environmental or animal welfare regulations become more intense.…”

“…Recently investigations were performed in order to better characterize genes involved in fattening (Dal Monego et al, 2007;Daniele et al, 2008). However, very few data are available on growth and carcass composition of the CT breed (Fortina et al, 2005;Pietrolà et al, 2006;Maiorano et al, 2007). In addition, some studies on skeletal development of pig reported that the genotype influences the evolution of the metacarpal growth plate and, consequently, the development of long bones strictly related to composition of gain (muscle/fat/bone ratio) and therefore carcass quality (Field et al, 1990a;Filetti et al, 2003).…”

“…In addition, some studies on skeletal development of pig reported that the genotype influences the evolution of the metacarpal growth plate and, consequently, the development of long bones strictly related to composition of gain (muscle/fat/bone ratio) and therefore carcass quality (Field et al, 1990a;Filetti et al, 2003). Due to lack of interest in this breed in the past, few recent papers on meat and fat characteristics are available (Zullo et al, 2003;Maiorano et al, 2007;Salvatori et al, 2008) and some knowledge (Maiorano et al, 2007) exits on CT intramuscular collagen (IMC), responsible for the background toughness of meat (McCormick, 1999) and on yield from a technological point of view (Boutten et al, 2000). The purpose of this study was to increase knowledge regarding Casertana meat quality and also to compare growth, slaughter performance, meat quality and skeletal development of the CT breed to that of Italian Large White and Duroc x (Landrace x Italian Large White) crosses (one of the most widely used commercial crossbreeds), raised in an intensive outdoor farming system.…”