The Implications of Changing Age and Weight at Slaughter of Heavy Pigs on Carcass and Green Ham Quality Traits.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Malgwi IH
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8388713 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Abattoir meat inspection has been proposed for the collection of welfare outcomes. The identification of suitable animal-based measures (ABM) is still a critical point that needs to be implemented to avoid collinearity among measures. The present study aims to benchmark the presence of ABM such as skin and tail lesions and ham defects in carcasses from 79 batches of Italian Heavy pigs and to identify possible relationships between the assessed ABM and pre-slaughter factors such as the season and the overnight lairage. Furthermore, the study also considers the effect of pre-slaughter conditions and ABM on carcass traits parameters (cold carcass weight and lean meat percentage). Skin and tail lesions were recorded at the slaughter line. The presence of abscesses, muscle tears and veining defects were assessed in the hams at trimming, according to the Parma Ham Consortium. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify relationships between ABM and pre-slaughter factor; therefore, a linear model was built to assess the effect on carcass weight and lean meat percentage. Main welfare issues were represented by skin and tail lesions and muscle tears (prevalence above 10%). Multivariate analysis evidenced that skin lesions and veining defects were mostly associated with the warm season. Abscesses and muscle tears in the hams were more likely related to overnight lairage, while tail lesions contributed equally to both season and lairage. Moreover, lairage related factors showed to affect lean meat percentage. The findings of the present study suggest that ham defects might be useful indicators of pre-slaughter stress. The validation of these findings with physiological parameters could be of interest for further studies.
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Project description:Genetic parameters were estimated for growth, ultrasound, and carcass traits in a Canadian crossbred heavy lamb population. Traits analyzed included birth, weaning, post-weaning, and ultrasound scanning weights; pre- and post-weaning average daily gain; ultrasonically measured eye muscle and fat depths; hot carcass weight; fat depth at the GR site (110 mm from the midline on the 12th rib); carcass conformation scores; saleable meat yield; price grid value; and total carcass value. The impact of three alternative slaughter endpoints (slaughter age, carcass weight, and carcass fatness) on genetic parameter estimates was also evaluated. In general, carcass traits were found to be moderately heritable, with heritability estimates ranging from 0.17 ± 0.02 for hot carcass weight at a constant slaughter age to 0.34 ± 0.02 for average carcass conformation score at a constant carcass weight. Heritability estimates were similar when observations were adjusted to alternative slaughter endpoints, but for some traits, phenotypic variance and genetic correlation estimates differed. Genetic correlations between carcass traits and growth and ultrasound traits were typically favorable. Ultrasonically measured eye muscle depth and fat depth were found to be moderately to strongly positively correlated with hot carcass weight (0.33 ± 0.15 to 0.71 ± 0.19) and fat depth at the GR site (0.38 ± 0.14 to 0.74 ± 0.12), respectively, reaffirming the usefulness of selection on ultrasound traits to improve carcass yield and quality. Genetic correlations among carcass traits were generally favorable, with the exception of moderate unfavorable positive genetic correlations between fat depth at the GR site and primal cut carcass conformation scores (0.31 ± 0.05 to 0.60 ± 0.05). Overall, the results of this research suggest that there is potential to improve carcass yield and quality through genetic selection and provides the population-specific genetic parameter estimates needed for the genetic evaluation of carcass traits in the Canadian sheep population. Nevertheless, the optimal endpoint for carcass trait genetic evaluations will need to be further investigated, considering both the current findings and additional information on production practices in the industry.
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Project description:In Greece, all cattle carcasses produced from a variety of breed types are classified according to the SEUROP system. The objective of this study was to evaluate Greek carcass characteristics such as carcass weight and age of slaughter based on SEUROP classification system (muscle conformation and fat deposit classes) and to describe the effect of main factors such as breed, gender, year of slaughter, farm's geographical region and month of slaughter on these carcass parameters. It is the first study that evaluates local breeds, revealing the wide diversity of the Greek cattle breeding conditions. The analyzed records consisted of 323,046 carcasses from 2011 to 2017. All the examined factors significantly affected the mean carcass weight (298.9 ± 0.2 kg) and the mean slaughter age (559.1 ± 0.3 days). Carcasses from beef meat breeds had on average higher mean carcass weight while the local breeds had lower. The mean slaughter age and carcass weight were higher in winter than in summer. The local and the dairy breeds were classified in similar muscle conformation classes. Finally, Greek cattle carcasses from almost all regions were satisfactory for their quality carcass traits with good muscle conformation (R, O and U class) and low-fat deposit (class 1 to 3).
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Project description:The present work describes the effect of slaughtering age on horse carcass traits and on meat quality. Eighteen male Italian heavy draught horse (IHDH) breed foals were employed in the study. Soon after foaling they were randomly subdivided in 3 groups according to 3 age at slaughtering classes: 6 months old, 11 months old and 18 months old. Live weight, hot carcass weight and dressing percentage of each animal were recorded. After slaughtering, meat samples were collected from Longissimus Dorsi muscle between 13th and 18th thoracic vertebra of each animal and then analyzed. The right half carcass of each animal was then divided in cuts. Each one was subdivided into lean, fat and bones. Then, the classification of the lean meat in first and second quality cuts was performed according to the butchers' customs. Older animals were characterized by a lower incidence of first quality cuts (p<0.01) on carcass. Younger animals showed greater content in protein (p<0.01). Fatty acid profile showed an increasing trend of PUFA connected to the increasing of slaughtering age (p<0.05). The unsaturation index of intramuscular fatty acids was not affected by slaughtering age, confirming that horse meat, if compared to beef, is more suitable from a nutritional point of view. Season influenced reproduction, birth as well as production aspects of this species. The different slaughtering age could represent the way to produce meat of IHDH foals during the entire year without change in the qualitative standard expected by consumers.
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Project description:Porcine circovirus type 2 systemic infection was diagnosed in 2 slaughter-weight pigs based on postmortem examination. The infection was associated with unusual central nervous system lesions characterized by a multifocal lymphohistiocytic to granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis with giant cell formation. The role of these nervous system lesions in the development of the clinical signs in these pigs remains uncertain.
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Project description:BackgroundThe present paper reviews the occurrence of neoplasms in swine and presents a case series of 56 tumors submitted to the Slaughterhouse Support Network (Servei de Suport a Escorxadors [SESC] IRTA-CReSA]) from slaughtered pigs from 1998 to 2018 (April) in Catalonia (Spain). The aim of the study was to describe the spectrum of spontaneous neoplastic lesions found in slaughtered pigs and to compare the reported tumor cases with previous published data. Lymphoid neoplasms were characterized and classified using the WHO classification adapted for animals.ResultsThe most reported neoplasm during this period was lymphoma (28). Within lymphomas, the B-cell type was the most common, being the diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (15/28) the most represented subtype. Other submitted non-lymphoid neoplasms included melanoma (7), nephroblastoma (3), mast cell tumor (2), liposarcoma (2), osteochondromatosis (2), papillary cystadenocarcinoma (1), peripheral nerve sheath tumor (1), lymphoid leukemia (1), fibropapilloma (1), hemangiosarcoma (1), hepatoma (1), histiocytic sarcoma (1), pheochromocytoma (1) and osteosarcoma (1).ConclusionsThe existence of a well-established Slaughterhouse Support Network allowed the compilation of comprehensive data for further epidemiological and pathological studies, particularly about less commonly reported lesions in livestock such as neoplasms in pigs.
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Project description:Betaine is widely used as feed additives in animal husbandry as it can cause many benefits such as improving antioxidant ability, growth performance, and carcass traits. However, there are limited studies about the effects of betaine on the Bama mini-pigs. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary betaine on carcass traits, meat quality, and nitrogen metabolism of pigs. Twenty-six pregnant Bama mini-pigs and then 104 weaned piglets were assigned for experimental treatments. The plasma and muscle samples were collected at 65-, 95-, and 125-d-old pigs, respectively. The results showed that betaine addition in the sow-offspring diets increased the lean meat rate in the 65-d-old pigs, whereas carcass weight, carcass yield, and loin-eye area were increased in the 95-d-old pigs, and carcass weight and backfat thickness in the 125-d-old pigs. Dietary betaine addition in the sow-offspring diets increased the contents of plasma Asp of 65-d-old, Met of 95- and 125-d-old, and Sar of 125-d-old pigs. Moreover, betaine addition increased the contents of Met, His, Ile, and Phe in Longissimus thoracis et lumborum, whereas those contents were decreased in biceps femoris and psoas major muscles at different stages. Betaine addition in the sow and piglets' diets regulated the muscle fiber-type and myogenic regulatory gene expressions. In summary, betaine addition in the sow and sow-offspring diets could improve the carcass traits and meat quality by altering the plasma biochemical parameters, amino acid composition, and gene expressions of skeletal muscle.
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Project description:The aim of this study was to assess the effect of tail lesion severity on skin temperature of slaughter pigs measured at the base of the tail and the ear by infrared thermography camera and to evaluate the association between the temperature measurements. Pigs were randomly selected in the lairage, containing ~200 pigs/pen. Tail lesions were scored according to severity, using a 0-4 scale. Tail lesion scores 0 and 1 were summed as it was difficult to distinguish healed lesions from mild lesions due to animal dirtiness. In total, 269 study pigs were imaged at the two locations. The effect of tail lesion score and sex of the pig on the highest temperature of the infrared image areas were analyzed using linear mixed models. Association between the tail base and ear base temperatures was evaluated using Pearson correlation. Skin temperature measured at the base of the tail was significantly lower for tails scored 0-1 than for all other tail lesion scores (P < 0.05). Pigs with tail lesion scored 2 had significantly lower skin temperatures at the base of the tail than pigs with tail lesion scored 3 or 4 (P < 0.05) while there was no difference in skin temperature at the base of the tail between pigs with tail lesion scored 3 and 4 (P > 0.05). Skin temperature measured at the ear base was significantly lower for pigs with tail lesion scored 0-1 than pigs of all other tail lesion scores (P < 0.05) with no difference between the other scores (P > 0.05). Furthermore, there was an association between the two measurements (r = 0.50; P < 0.001). The findings suggest that even pigs with moderate tail lesions (score 2) may have general inflammation and infection, evidenced by the elevated systemic temperature compared to pigs with none or mild tail lesion (score 0-1).
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Project description:More recently, swine breeding programs have aimed to include pork quality and novel carcass (e.g., specific primal cuts such as the Boston butt or belly that are not commonly used in selection indexes) and belly traits together with growth, feed efficiency and carcass leanness in the selection indexes of terminal-sire lines, in order to efficiently produce pork with improved quality at a low cost to consumers. In this context, the success of genetic selection for such traits relies on accurate estimates of heritabilities and genetic correlations between traits. The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for 39 traits in Duroc pigs (three growth, eight conventional carcass (commonly measured production traits; e.g., backfat depth), 10 pork quality and 18 novel carcass traits). Phenotypic measurements were collected on 2583 purebred Duroc gilts, and the variance components were estimated using both univariate and bivariate models and REML procedures. Moderate to high heritability estimates were found for most traits, while genetic correlations tended to be low to moderate overall. Moderate to high genetic correlations were found between growth, primal-cuts and novel carcass traits, while low to moderate correlations were found between pork quality and growth and carcass traits. Some genetic antagonisms were observed, but they are of low to moderate magnitude. This indicates that genetic progress can be achieved for all traits when using an adequate selection index.
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Project description:Inulin is one of the commercially feasible dietary fibers that has been implicated in regulating the gut health and metabolism of animals. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary inulin supplementation on growth performance and meat quality in growing-finishing pigs. Thirty-six Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire White growing barrows (22.0 ± 1.0 kg) were randomly allocated to two dietary treatments consisting of a basal control diet (CON) or basal diet supplemented with 0.5% inulin (INU). Results showed that inulin supplementation tended to increase the average daily gain (ADG) at the fattening stage (0.05 < p < 0.10). Inulin significantly increased the dressing percentage (p < 0.05) and tended to increase the loin-eye area. The serum concentrations of insulin and IGF-I were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the INU group than in the CON group. Moreover, inulin supplementation significantly elevated the expression level of myosin heavy chain II b (MyHC IIb) in the longissimus dorsi (p < 0.05). Inulin significantly upregulated the expression of mammalian rapamycin target protein (mTOR) but decreased (p < 0.05) the expression level of muscle-specific ubiquitin ligase MuRF-1. These results show the beneficial effect of inulin supplementation on the growth performance and carcass traits in growing-finishing pigs, and will also facilitate the application of inulin in swine production.
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