Dietary creatine monohydrate has no effect on pork quality of Danish crossbred pigs

The effects of the carbohydrate composition of finishing diet (fed from 80 to 107 kg of body weight) and the length of pre-slaughter fasting on pork quality were studied in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment with 80 crossbred pigs. The control finishing diet was based on barley and soybean meal, and the fibrous finishing diet was based on barley, barley fibre, faba beans, and rapeseed cake. These diets contained 465 and 362 g starch and 177 and 250 g dietary fibre per kg, respectively. The fasting times of 25 and 41 h were obtained by giving the pigs their last meal at different times. Longer fasting lowered the glycolytic potential of the longissimus lumborum muscle (P = 0.01), whereas the finishing diet had no effect. Different muscles responded differently to the treatments. Longer fasting increased the ultimate pH of the semimembranosus muscle (P = 0.02), but did not affect that of the longissimus lumborum and semispinalis capitis muscles. The finishing diets did not affect the ultimate pH of the investigated muscles. A diet × fasting time interaction was seen in the lightness of the semimembranosus muscle (P = 0.05). The fibrous diet resulted in darker meat than the control diet did in pigs that were fasted for 25 h (P < 0.05). Longer fasting darkened the meat colour in pigs fed the fibrous diet (P < 0.05) but not in those fed the control diet. The meat from the semispinalis capitis muscle was darker in pigs fed the fibrous than those fed the control diet (P = 0.04). The treatments did not affect the colour of the longissimus lumborum muscle. Longer fasting decreased drip loss from the meat of pigs fed the control diet (P < 0.05). The eating quality of the pork was not influenced by the finishing diets or the fasting time. The pigs also grew equally fast on both finishing diets. In conclusion, a moderate alteration in the carbohydrate composition of a finishing diet or longer pre-slaughter fasting can have some effects on pork quality in crossbred pigs, but these effects vary in different muscles.;

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Characterizing Pork Quality of Carcasses with an Average Weight of 119 Kg

Meat and Muscle Biology ◽

10.22175/mmb.10671 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

Author(s):

H. Price ◽

A. B. Lerner ◽

E. A. Rice ◽

J. E. Lowell ◽

B. N. Harsh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Iodine Value ◽

Total Population ◽

Fiber Type ◽

Carcass Weight ◽

Average Weight ◽

Pork Quality ◽

Quality Traits ◽

Quality Measurements

ObjectivesBetween 1995 and 2018, average hot carcass weight of U.S. pork carcasses increased from 82 kg to 96 kg, which is an increase of approximately 17%. At current rates, pork carcasses in the U.S. will weigh on average, 105 kg by the year 2030 and over 118 kg by 2050. Although this represents an increase in throughput efficiency due to increases in economy of scale, projecting continued increases in the future raises some concerns. Therefore, the objective was to characterize pork quality of carcasses ranging from 78 to 145 kg with a mean weight of 119 kg.Materials and MethodsCarcass composition, such as hot carcass weight (HCW), back fat depth and loin depth were measured on 666 carcasses. Additionally, loin quality measurements, such as pH, loin instrumental and visual color, and iodine value of clear plate fat were measured on approximately 90% of the total population. Ham quality, 14 d aged loin and chop quality measurements, and loin chop slice shear force (SSF) were evaluated on approximately 30% of the total population. Finally, myosin heavy chain fiber type determination was completed on approximately 50 carcasses selected from carcasses ranging from 97 to 133 kg. The slope of regression lines and coefficients of determination between hot carcass weights and quality traits were calculated using the REG procedure in SAS and considered significantly different from 0 at P ≤ 0.05.ResultsAs HCW increased loin depth (b1 = 0.2496, P < 0.0001), back fat depth (b1 = 0.1374, P < 0.0001), loin weight (b1 = 0.0345, P < 0.0001), chop weight (b1 = 1.6626, P < 0.0001), and ham weight (b1 = 0.1044, P < 0.0001) increased. There was a decrease in estimated lean (b1 = –0.0751, P < 0.0001) and iodine value (b1 = –0.0923, P < 0.0001) as carcass weight increased, however, HCW only accounted for ≤ 24% (R2 = 0.24) of the variation in estimated lean and iodine value. Additionally, there were no significant differences in gluteus medius pH (b1 = 0.0009, P = 0.30) or instrumental lightness (b1 = 0.0301, P = 0.15), redness (b1 = –0.0036, P = 0.73) or yellowness (b1 = 0.0058, P = 0.57) of the ham as carcass weight increased. As carcass weight increased, 1 d loin instrumental yellowness (b*) increased (b1 = 0.0092 P < 0.01), however HCW only explained 1% of the variation in b*. Heavier carcasses were more tender (decreased SSF of chops cooked to 71°C, (b1 = –0.0674, P < 0.0001), although HCW only explained 9% of the variation in SSF. Total cook loss of chops used for SSF determination decreased as HCW increased (b1 = –0.0512, P < 0.0001), and HCW explained 15% (R2 = 0.15) of the variation in total cook loss. There were no significant differences in fiber type percentage, type 1 (b1 = –0.0170, P = 0.81), 2a (b1 = –0.0786, P = 0.23), 2x (b1 = –0.0201, P = 0.80), or 2b (b1 = 0.1224, P = 0.37), or fiber type area, type 1 (b1 = –26.6331, P = 0.22), 2a (b1 = –40.7257, P = 0.07), 2x (b1 = –46.9459, P = 0.25), or 2b (b1 = –26.2537, P = 0.38) as HCW increased.ConclusionDue to the lack of variation explained by HCW (≤ 15%), pork quality traits are not expected to be compromised as HCW continues to increase. The results suggest that increasing HCW to 119 kg did not have detrimental effects on pork quality attributes.

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