Abstract
BackgroundGastric ulcers in fattening pigs from intensive pork production can cause sudden deaths on farm and the grinding intensity of the diet appears to be among the risk factors. The objective of this work is to adopt the latest laboratory tests and thresholds for the ulcerogenic risk assessment of diets from experimental reports and verify the class of risk in relation to gastric lesion prevalence in reared finishers.ResultsSpecificity and accuracy of feed safety tests based on the ulcerogenic risk of feed associated with the particle size distribution of diets were calculated on the occurrence of gastric lesions observed at a slaughterhouse: 41 lard-type hogs, fed with two diets [pelleted (n = 21 pigs) vs. mixed meal (n = 20 pigs)], analyzed at the laboratory of our Institute, were involved. Gross inspection at the abattoir allowed the identification of the development of macroscopic gastric lesions in the pigs (13/21) fed with a pelleted complete diet, ranked in Class 1 (high ulcerogenic risk) on laboratory assessment. Breakdown of gastric lesion severity: hyperkeratosis (13/13), mucosal erosions (11/13) and bleeding ulcers (2/13). This occurrence was compared to the morphology of stomach mucosa from 20 finishers fed with a mixed meal diet, ranked in Class 3 (low ulcerogenic risk), in which no gastric lesions were observed. Very fine particle (VFP) mass (<0.4 mm) according to cut off thresholds (>36%) for the safety ranking of diets, showed: 100% positive predictive value (PPV); 100% specificity; 88.1% accuracy; 72.2% sensitivity.ConclusionsThree factors emerged: the elevated mass (42.6%) of <0.4 mm particles in the pelleted complete diet confirmed the associated risk rank in Class 1 assessed by laboratory procedures, as gastric lesions were selectively observed in 61.9% of finishers fed with the high risk diet; in these animals, macroscopic gastric lesions occurred within four weeks and showed a sub-clinical course, independently of severity; proper sieving analysis is necessary to define the VFP proportion in feedstuffs with certainty, as an adequate measure to assess the ulcerogenic risk class of the diet.
Highlights
Gastric ulcers in fattening pigs from intensive pork production can cause sudden deaths on farm and the grinding intensity of the diet appears to be among the risk factors
These can be listed as follows: 1) the practice of increasing the proportion of coarse particles in the diet gives no ulceroprotection when the very fine particle (VFP) proportion is greatly represented [8] and, especially in pelleted feed, coarser particles contribute to making the pellet prone to instability [14]; 2) the particle size distribution should be examined after the pelleting process as it represents a second milling [14]: as a matter of fact, the grinding phase of the manufacturing process, before pelleting, concurs to the particle size of the pellet, but the pelleting phase finalize it
The pigs could ingest higher proportions of fine particles with the pelleted diets than set in the grinding phase of the production line; 3) the Very fine particle (VFP) (
Summary
Gastric ulcers in fattening pigs from intensive pork production can cause sudden deaths on farm and the grinding intensity of the diet appears to be among the risk factors. Advances in the etiology and pathogenesis of pigs’ gastric lesions have supplied significant tools to support veterinary practitioners in the evaluation of risks associated with the diet These can be listed as follows: 1) the practice of increasing the proportion of coarse particles in the diet gives no ulceroprotection when the very fine particle (VFP) proportion is greatly represented [8] and, especially in pelleted feed, coarser particles contribute to making the pellet prone to instability [14]; 2) the particle size distribution should be examined after the pelleting process as it represents a second milling [14]: as a matter of fact, the grinding phase of the manufacturing process, before pelleting, concurs to the particle size of the pellet, but the pelleting phase finalize it. The pigs could ingest higher proportions of fine particles with the pelleted diets than set in the grinding phase of the production line; 3) the VFP (
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