Abstract
This study was undertaken to test the feasibility of using alpha and gamma-tocopherol quantification in fat and muscle to establish a correct classification of Iberian pigs according to their feeding background in practical situations. Samples were obtained over three different seasons from the four categories of pigs described in the Industry Quality Policy (FREE-OUT “bellota” ; FREE-OUT-FEED “recebo” ; FEEDOUT “campo” ; and FEED-IN “cebo” ). Linear discriminant functions were calculated with data obtained from seasons 1 and 2 and validated. The classification of fat and muscle samples from season 3 in the four feeding categories according to the calculated discriminant functions achieved an average of 76% success rate in distinguishing the true origin of pig samples. Quantification in muscle seemed to have higher prediction ability. Regression equations to quantify weight gained depending on the gamma-tocopherol concentration had higher R 2 values for muscle than for fat (R 2 = 0.81 vs. 0.62). Merging of the feeding categories established by the Quality Policy could raise the accuracy of the alpha and gamma-tocopherol quantification method to up to between 89% and 98%.
Highlights
The Iberian pig, an autochthonous breed mainly reared in the southwest of Spain, is known for the high quality and commercial value of its products
In both tissues, the group fattened with a commercial diet (FEED-IN) had the lowest alpha-tocopherol concentrations when compared with the other groups (P
Since FREE-OUT-FEED pigs consumed lower amounts of acorns, they had a lower proportion of gamma-tocopherol in tissues than pigs exclusively fed free-range, but higher than pigs fed with a mixed diet indoors (FEED-IN) or those fed with a mixed diet and consuming grass outdoors (FEED-OUT)
Summary
The Iberian pig, an autochthonous breed mainly reared in the southwest of Spain, is known for the high quality and commercial value of its products. To prevent fraud and to properly identify the feeding background of the animals, quality control practices such as the fatty acid analysis of adipose tissue by gas chromatography have been widely used (BOE, 2001). This method has been recently devalued (BOE, 2007) because of the incorrect classification of pigs fed in intensive conditions with an oleic acid-enriched mixed diet as those that had been fed in freerange conditions. In a previous study, Rey et al (2006a) reported that pigs raised free-ranged showed higher gamma-tocopherol concentration
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