Abstract
Simple SummaryInterest in animal welfare has increased and been considered a relevant attribute for the concept of the ethical quality of pig products. The present study suggests that consumers would appreciate particular improvements on animal welfare such as providing environmental enrichment or herbal compounds. The provision of those welfare improvement strategies did not have a significant effect on technological carcass and meat quality parameters. However, the strategies used in this study that can increase animal welfare in production systems were valued by consumers.Animal welfare can be considered an ethical attribute of product quality, but consumers should appreciate its added value. The aim of this study was to evaluate consumer’s acceptability, preference, and the meat and carcass quality of pigs reared with two stress-reducing strategies: supplementation of an herbal compound (HC) containing Valeriana officinalis and Passiflora incarnata, and environmental enrichment (EE) by the provision of hemp ropes, sawdust, and rubber balls. A total of 56 pigs were divided in four treatments in two pens of seven pigs per treatment (2 × 2 factorial design). Meat and carcass quality were evaluated. Consumer’s acceptability and preference were analysed with a sensory test and a conjoint analysis in 110 consumers. Before slaughter, control pigs (no EE and no HC) presented lower live weight compared with other treatments (p = 0.0009). Although acceptance was the same for all of the treatments, consumers preferred systems aiming to increase pig welfare. The most important factor was production system, with a preference for those improving welfare, followed by feeding system, with a preference for those with natural herbs supplementation. Although price was the least important factor, a segment of consumers showed a clear preference for lower prices. These results suggest that welfare improvements could be appreciated by particular consumer segments.
Highlights
Intensive pig production conditions subject individual pigs to different stressors that may negatively impact on their well-being
The Ethical Committee had to decide according to Article 38 of European Union (EU) legislation on whether “the harm to the animals in terms of suffering, pain, and distress is justified by the expected outcome taking into account ethical considerations, and may benefit human beings, animals, or the environment”
The model included use or not of environmental enrichment and herbal compound, and their interaction as fixed effects, consumer was included as a random effect, and session was included as a blocking effect
Summary
Intensive pig production conditions subject individual pigs to different stressors that may negatively impact on their well-being. Increase in animal welfare in pig production systems can be achieved by implementing different strategies For this particular study, the two management strategies selected were: the provision of environmental enrichment and supplementation with herbal compounds with sedative properties. The aims of the present study were to: (1) evaluate carcass and meat quality characteristics of pork produced using two strategies aiming to reduce the stress on farm: supplementation of an herbal compound with sedative properties, and the addition of enrichment material to the pens; (2) evaluate consumers’ sensory acceptability of meat from these different strategies; and (3) determine the effect of three factors (feeding supplementation, production system, and price) on consumer’s purchasing intention of pork
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