This work considers all factors along the production chain from farm to fork influencing the quality of fresh pork and processed products. Pork quality is multidimensional and comprises various ...attributes: commercial value of carcasses, meat organoleptic, nutritional, technological (i.e. suitability for processing and storage) properties, convenience, and societal image. The latter denotes cultural, ethical (including animal welfare) and environmental dimensions related to pork production, including geographical origin, all of which influence societal perceptions for pork. This review covers the impact of production factors, slaughter methods, carcass processing, and post mortem ageing on fresh meat quality. The impact on pork quality from some of these factors are now well documented and clearly established (e.g. genetics and pork technological attributes; diet and lipid profile; preslaughter and slaughter conditions and pork technological or organoleptic attributes…). Gaps in scientific knowledge are also identified, including the need for a better understanding of regulatory pathways for oxidative stress in vivo and post mortem that can contribute to optimise pork organoleptic and nutritional attributes and its suitability for processing and storage. This review highlights the strong interactions between primary production factors on pork quality attributes. Interactions are particularly marked in alternative production systems, in which synergies between factors can lead to specific quality characteristics that can be used to market pork at a premium as branded products. There are also antagonisms between quality attributes, namely between carcass commercial value and pork technological and organoleptic properties, between nutritional attributes and processing and storage suitability of fat tissues, between societal image and pork technological attributes in outdoor production systems, and between societal image (better welfare) and organoleptic attributes (risk for boar taint) in entire male production. Further research is needed to better understand the effects of some specific production factors and their interactions on quality attributes. A holistic approach with the use of multicriteria analyses can help to work out the trade-offs between pork quality attributes and between stakeholders (farmer, slaughterhouse or processing plant, consumers, citizens …) whose priorities may differ.
Pork is often consumed in a very wide variety of products, processed from integral cuts or minced meat using different conservation methods (curing, smoking, cooking, drying, fermenting). Quality of ...pork products results from a combination between the properties of the raw material and the processing conditions to elaborate the final products. The influence of primary production factors, slaughtering and carcass processing on the quality of fresh pork has been reviewed (part 1), considering quality as an integrative combination of various attributes: commercial, organoleptic, nutritional, technological, convenience, and societal image, the latter denotes cultural, ethical (including animal welfare) and environment dimensions related to the way pork is produced, processed, and its geographical origin. This review (part 2) focuses on the influence of primary production factors and processing techniques on the quality of two important and economically significant processed pork products issued from contrasting processing techniques: cooked ham and dry-cured ham. As with fresh pork, many factors influence the quality of processed products, and one factor can affect several attributes. Moreover, in the case of processed products, numerous factors in both animal production and processing steps interact to determine their quality attributes. The quality of cooked ham depends on the properties of the raw material (in particular pH, colour, water holding capacity, presence of destructured meat defect, etc.) which are determined by pig husbandry practices (especially the genotype), pre-, postslaughter and processing conditions including the composition of curing mixture (ingredients, additives), salting, mixing and heat treatment. Processing techniques of cooked ham aim at homogenising the product quality within a given quality category (e.g. ‘standard’ or ‘superior’) or brand. Therefore, the variability of raw material is problematic for the cooked ham processing industry, which generally seeks uniformity and homogeneity of fresh hams. Likewise, pig husbandry conditions exert even greater impact on dry-cured ham quality. Indeed, the properties of raw material (including weight of fresh ham, fat thickness, pH, intramuscular fat and antioxidants content, fatty acid profile, etc.) that result from combined effects of primary production factors (genotype, feeding, production system, etc.) interact with processing conditions (salting, drying, ripening conditions and duration, etc.) to elaborate the quality attributes of the final products. Synergies can be sought between the primary production factors and processing techniques leading to specific organoleptic characteristics (texture, taste, aroma, flavour, etc.) that can be valued by quality labels. Quality of products is thus built along the whole chain from farm to fork.
This study reviews the factors of pig production that impact the quality of dry-cured ham. When processing is standardized, the quality of the final dry-cured product is primarily determined by the ...quality of the meat before curing (green ham). This has been defined as the aptitude for seasoning and is determined by the green ham weight, adipose tissue quantity and quality, meat physico-chemical properties and the absence of visual defects. Various ante-mortem factors including pig age and weight, genetic type, diet, feeding strategy and slaughter conditions determine green ham properties such as the dynamics of water loss, salt intake and, as a consequence, proteolysis and lipolysis. Muscle conditions (pH, salt concentration, water content and availability, temperature) influence enzymatic activity and development of characteristic texture and flavor. Generally, hams of older and heavier pigs present better seasoning aptitude because of higher adiposity. Adiposity is also positively correlated with fat saturation, which is desired to avoid rancidity and oiliness. The fatty acid profile of tissue lipids can be manipulated by diet composition. Feeding strategy affects tissue accretion and protein turnover, thus directly impacting proteolysis. With respect to the impact of pig genotype on dry-cured ham quality, local breeds are generally considered more suitable for producing quality dry hams; however, the majority of dry-cured hams on the market today are from modern pig breeds raised in conventional systems, providing lean hams. The importance of all these factors of pig production is discussed and synthesized, with an emphasis on the main difficulties encountered in dry-cured ham production.
Summary
ROHs are long stretches of DNA homozygous at each polymorphic position. The proportion of genome covered by ROHs and their length are indicators of the level and origin of inbreeding. ...Frequent common ROHs within the same population define ROH islands and indicate hotspots of selection. In this work, we investigated ROHs in a total of 1131 pigs from 20 European local pig breeds and in three cosmopolitan breeds, genotyped with the GGP Porcine HD Genomic Profiler. plink software was used to identify ROHs. Size classes and genomic inbreeding parameters were evaluated. ROH islands were defined by evaluating different thresholds of homozygous SNP frequency. A functional overview of breed‐specific ROH islands was obtained via over‐representation analyses of GO biological processes. Mora Romagnola and Turopolje breeds had the largest proportions of genome covered with ROH (~1003 and ~955 Mb respectively), whereas Nero Siciliano and Sarda breeds had the lowest proportions (~207 and 247 Mb respectively). The highest proportion of long ROH (>16 Mb) was in Apulo‐Calabrese, Mora Romagnola and Casertana. The largest number of ROH islands was identified in the Italian Landrace (n = 32), Cinta Senese (n = 26) and Lithuanian White Old Type (n = 22) breeds. Several ROH islands were in regions encompassing genes known to affect morphological traits. Comparative ROH structure analysis among breeds indicated the similar genetic structure of local breeds across Europe. This study contributed to understanding of the genetic history of the investigated pig breeds and provided information to manage these pig genetic resources.
Meta-analytical approach was used to quantitatively synthesize the effect of immunocastration on growth, carcass, meat quality, reproductive organs and boar taint compounds. Altogether, 41 papers ...were collected for effect size (θ) calculation and the comparisons were made with entire males (EM) and surgical castrates (SC). The data for reproductive organs and growth performance are numerous enough to draw firm conclusions. In contrast, data for carcass and meat quality are more limited. Results of meta-analysis show efficient immunocastration with the magnitude of the response being by far the largest for reproductive organs (θ = −2.8 to −5.0) and boar taint substances (θ = −2.8 and −0.8 for androstenone and skatole, respectively). However, compared with SC, the immunocastrates exhibit larger bulbourethral glands (θ = 1.3) and slightly higher concentrations of androstenone and skatole (θ = 0.1 and θ = 0.2, respectively). The impact of immunocastration is also remarkable on performance, where the main advantage of the immunocastrates is their boar-like performance until revaccination. In the period following the second vaccination, they eat much more than EM (θ = 2.1), resulting in large effect size for growth rate compared with both EM and SC (θ = 1.1 and θ = 1.4, respectively). Considering the whole fattening period, their feed conversion ratio is higher compared with EM (θ = 0.6) and much lower than that of SC (θ = −1.3), although exhibiting moderately faster growth compared with both (θ = 0.6 and θ = 0.2, respectively). With regard to carcass quality, the immunocastrates take intermediate position between EM and SC. Besides, our analysis suggests no difference in meat quality with SC and some meat quality advantages of immunocastrates over EM because of higher intramuscular fat content (θ = 0.4) and lower shear force (θ = −0.6).
Summary
Autochthonous pig breeds are usually reared in extensive or semi‐extensive production systems that might facilitate contact with wild boars and, thus, reciprocal genetic exchanges. In this ...study, we analysed variants in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene (which cause different coat colour phenotypes) and in the nuclear receptor subfamily 6 group A member 1 (NR6A1) gene (associated with increased vertebral number) in 712 pigs of 12 local pig breeds raised in Italy (Apulo‐Calabrese, Casertana, Cinta Senese, Mora Romagnola, Nero Siciliano and Sarda) and south‐eastern European countries (Krškopolje from Slovenia, Black Slavonian and Turopolje from Croatia, Mangalitsa and Moravka from Serbia and East Balkan Swine from Bulgaria) and compared the data with the genetic variability at these loci investigated in 229 wild boars from populations spread in the same macro‐geographic areas. None of the autochthonous pig breeds or wild boar populations were fixed for one allele at both loci. Domestic and wild‐type alleles at these two genes were present in both domestic and wild populations. Findings of the distribution of MC1R alleles might be useful for tracing back the complex genetic history of autochthonous breeds. Altogether, these results indirectly demonstrate that bidirectional introgression of wild and domestic alleles is derived and affected by the human and naturally driven evolutionary forces that are shaping the Sus scrofa genome: autochthonous breeds are experiencing a sort of ‘de‐domestication’ process, and wild resources are challenged by a ‘domestication’ drift. Both need to be further investigated and managed.
New precise results of a measurement of the elastic electron-proton scattering cross section performed at the Mainz Microtron MAMI are presented. About 1400 cross sections were measured with negative ...four-momentum transfers squared up to Q² = 1 (GeV/c)² with statistical errors below 0.2%. The electric and magnetic form factors of the proton were extracted by fits of a large variety of form factor models directly to the cross sections. The form factors show some features at the scale of the pion cloud. The charge and magnetic radii are determined to be <r²E>½ = 0.879(5)stat(4)syst(2)model(4)group fm and <r²M>½ = 0.777(13)stat(9)syst(5)model(2)group fm.
Genetic characterization of local breeds is essential to preserve their genomic variability, to advance conservation policies and to contribute to their promotion and sustainability. Genomic ...diversity of twenty European local pig breeds and a small sample of Spanish wild pigs was assessed using high density SNP chips. A total of 992 DNA samples were analyzed with the GeneSeek Genomic Profiler (GGP) 70 K HD porcine genotyping chip. Genotype data was employed to compute genetic diversity, population differentiation and structure, genetic distances, linkage disequilibrium and effective population size. Our results point out several breeds, such as Turopolje, Apulo Calabrese, Casertana, Mora Romagnola and Lithuanian indigenous wattle, having the lowest genetic diversity, supported by low heterozygosity and very small effective population size, demonstrating the need of enhanced conservation strategies. Principal components analysis showed the clustering of the individuals of the same breed, with few breeds being clearly isolated from the rest. Several breeds were partially overlapped, suggesting genetic closeness, which was particularly marked in the case of Iberian and Alentejana breeds. Spanish wild boar was also narrowly related to other western populations, in agreement with recurrent admixture between wild and domestic animals. We also searched across the genome for loci under diversifying selection based on F
outlier tests. Candidate genes that may underlie differences in adaptation to specific environments and productive systems and phenotypic traits were detected in potentially selected genomic regions.
Tannins have long been considered ‘anti-nutritional’ factors in monogastric nutrition, shown to reduce feed intake and palatability. However, recent studies revealed that compared with condensed ...tannins, hydrolysable tannins (HT) appear to have far less impact on growth performance, but may be inhibitory to the total activity of caecal bacteria. This in turn could reduce microbial synthesis of skatole and indole in the hindgut of entire male pigs (EM). Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the impact of a group of dietary HT on growth performance, carcass traits and boar taint compounds of group housed EM. For the study, 36 Swiss Large White boars were assigned within litter to three treatment groups. Boars were offered ad libitum one of three finisher diets supplemented with 0 (C), 15 (T15) or 30 g/kg (T30) of HT from day 105 to 165 of age. Growth performance, carcass characteristics, boar taint compounds in the adipose tissue and cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoenzymes CYP2E1, CYP1A2 and CYP2A19 gene expression in the liver was assessed. Compared with C, feed efficiency but not daily gain and daily feed intake was lower (P<0.05) in T15 and T30 boars. Except for the percentage carcass weight loss during cooling, which tended (P<0.10) to be greater in T30 than C and T15, carcass characteristics were not affected by the diets. In line with the numerically lower androstenone level, bulbourethral and salivary glands of T30 boars were lighter (P<0.05) than of T15 with intermediate values for C. Indole level was lower (P<0.05) in the adipose tissue of T30 than C pigs with intermediate levels in T15. Skatole levels tended (P<0.10) to be lower in T30 and C than T15 pigs. Hepatic gene expression of CYP isoenzymes did not differ between-treatment groups, but was negatively correlated (P<0.05) with androstenone (CYP2E1 and CYP1A2), skatole (CYP2E1, CYP2A) and indole (CYP2A) level. In line with the numerically highest androstenone and skatole concentrations, boar taint odour but not flavour was detected by the panellists in loins from T15 compared with loins from C and T30 boars. These results provide evidence that HT affected metabolism of indolic compounds and androstenone and that they affected the development of accessory sex glands. However, the effects were too small to be detected by sensory evaluation.
•We studied the effect of sex category on environmental sustainability.•Castrating impairs environmental sustainability in all trials.•Differences between trials are larger than differences between ...sex categories.•Improving feed efficiency and tailoring diets to animal’s needs is crucial.•Ending physical castration supports the reduction in nutrient excretion.
The environmental impact of livestock production is under scrutiny nowadays and is being situated both on a global level and local level. On a global level, the global warming potential (GWP) of meat production is criticised. On a local level, the excretion of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) is of concern as excess nutrients may lead to water eutrophication and soil acidification. The ERA-NET project SuSI evaluated if immunocastration may act as an ecologically, socially and economic more sustainable alternative compared to pork production with surgical castrates (SCs) and boars (BOs). Here, we report the environmental impact of immunocastrates (ICs) vs SC and BO, based on four trials carried out by European SuSi partners. More specifically, we aimed to compare IC with SC and BO in terms of GWP, N and P excretion per kg of pork production and test if this differed between experiments. There was an interaction between trial and sex category (PTrial × Sex category < 0.005) for all environmental sustainability parameters. Surgical castrates performed worse (higher carbon footprint of the feed intake, N and P excretion, lower N and P efficiency) compared to IC and BO, but the size of the effect was trial dependent. Immunocastrates scored intermediate, with mostly no significant differences from BO in most trials, but with significantly better values compared to SC. Over trials, the carbon footprint of the feed intake (land use change inclusive) per kg lean meat gain in the growing-finishing phase was 9–16% lower for IC vs SC and 9–22% lower for BO vs SC. Nitrogen efficiency of IC and BO was 7–10% and 9–14%, respectively, higher compared to SC. Phosphorus efficiency of IC and BO was higher than that of SC by 6–14% and 9–17%, respectively. Per kg of lean meat gain in the growing-finishing phase, IC excreted between 14 and 19% less N and between 14 and 24% less P than SC. For BO, it was between 14 and 27% less N and between 14 and 31% less P than SC. Differences between trials were larger than differences between castration strategies and trial design may have amplified the observed effects. Improving feed efficiency, adapting the feed to the needs of the animal (avoiding excess nutrients) and choosing low-impact ingredients are key for improving the environmental sustainability of pig production. Ending physical castration is another step to attain this goal.
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