Abstract
Meat quality and cut yield of pigs slaughtered between 100 and 150kg live weight were evaluated. Pigs (417 Agroceres PIC barrows and gilts) were fed a daily allowance of 2.8kg per head from 80kg until 100.71±0.85, 118.58±0.99, 134.07±1.18 or 143.90±1.24kg live weight. Seventy-one pigs were used for the evaluation of primal and subprimal cuts. There was no interaction between sex and slaughter weight for any of the evaluated parameters. Ham, shoulder, and loin weights linearly increased (P<0.01; R2: 84.3-93.2%) with increasing slaughter weight, which, however, had little effect on primal cuts meat yield. Increasing slaughter weight promoted a linear (P<0.05) and a quadratic (P<0.01) increase of red/green coordinate (a* value) of the loin and ham, respectively. Shear force showed a quadratic response (P<0.05), with minimum value estimated at 122kg slaughter weight. It was concluded that, under the applied management, increasing slaughter weight increased the volume of meat, but had little effect on meat yield. The meat of pigs slaughtered at heavier weights showed more intense red color and the same intramuscular fat content as lighter pigs, while tenderness was slightly affected.
Highlights
In pig production, slaughter weight is a management factor that strongly affects production costs and final product quality
The genetic selection for high lean production led to changes in the ratio between muscle fiber types, resulting in muscle biochemical changes and negatively affecting meat quality (Lefaucheur et al, 2011), which may interact with slaughter weight
Shoulder, loin, and boston butt weights linearly increased (P
Summary
Slaughter weight is a management factor that strongly affects production costs and final product quality. Until the mid 1990s in Brazil, pigs were slaughtered between 90 and 100kg live weight. Reduced fat deposition and better feed efficiency as a result of several technologies adopted by the industry allowed increasing slaughter weight in approximately 20-30kg in the last two decades in the main pig-producing regions of Brazil. The genetic selection for high lean production led to changes in the ratio between muscle fiber types, resulting in muscle biochemical changes and negatively affecting meat quality (Lefaucheur et al, 2011), which may interact with slaughter weight. The aim of this study was to evaluate the weight and composition of cuts, and the meat quality of pigs of a genotype selected for high lean production slaughtered between 100 and 145kg live weight
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