11 research outputs found
Feeding and Rearing Strategies for Heavy Pigs: Effects on Growth Performance, Feed Efficiency, and Dry-Cured Ham Meat Quality Traits
Get PDFIn Italy, pigs must be slaughtered at 160 ± 16 kg body weight (BW) at 9 months of age for dry-cured ham production (control, C). In Chapter 1, we investigated three alternatives based on different feeding conditions to address the implications of changing the age and weight at slaughter of heavy pigs on carcass and green ham quality traits: 1) allowing pigs to express their growth potential by allowing them to achieve 160 ± 16 kg slaughter weight (SW) at younger slaughter age (SA) (younger Age, YA); 2) allowing pigs to express their growth potential by maximizing their SW at 9 months SA (greater weight, GW); 3) increasing the SA required to achieve 160 ± 16 kg SW (older age, OA). Pigs (336 C21 Goland, 95 kg initial body weight) were slaughtered at 257, 230, 257, and 273 d SA and 172.7, 172.3, 192.9, and 169.3 SW kg for the four treatments, respectively. C pigs had an average daily gain (ADG) of 715 g/d and feed efficiency (FE) of 0.265 (gain to feed). Compared to C, YA pigs had higher ADG (+32%), FE (+7.5%), and better ham adiposity; GW pigs had higher carcass weight (+12%), ADG (+25%), trimmed ham weight (+10.9%), and better ham adiposity. OA treatment affected ADG (−16.4%), FE (−16.6%), and trimmed ham weight (−3.6%). YA and GW could be promising alternatives to C as they improved FE and ham quality traits.
In Chapter 2, a total of 159 C21 Goland pigs (gilts and barrows) at 95 ± 9.0 kg BW from three batches were used to investigate the impact of ad libitum feeding on SW, growth performance, feed efficiency, and carcass and green ham characteristics. Diets contained 10 MJ/kg of net energy and 7.4 and 6.0 g/kg of SID-lysine. Slaughter weight classes (SWC) included 210 kg BW. In each batch, pigs were sacrificed at 230 or 258 d of age. Left hams were scored for round shape, fat cover thickness, marbling, lean colour, bicolour and veining. Data were analyzed with a model considering SWC, sex and SWC X Sex interactions as fixed factors and the batch as a random factor. The linear, quadratic and cubic effects of SWC were tested, but only linear effects were found. Results showed that pigs with greater SWC had greater average daily gain and feed consumption, with similar feed efficiency and better ham quality traits: greater ham weight, muscularity, and fat covering in correspondence of semimembranosus muscle. Barrows were heavier and produced hams with slightly better characteristics than gilts.
The current National Research Council (NRC) nutrient recommendations are based on pigs fed ad libitum up to 140 kg BW. It is unclear whether this applies to pigs weighing more than 140 kg in BW raised under different conditions. This was addressed in Chapter 3 using a mathematical modelling approach based on repeated BW and backfat (BF) measurements to estimate: i, Protein (Pd) and lipid (Ld) depositions; ii) Metabolizable energy (ME); iii) Standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID lysine) requirement, and partitioning the body protein and lipid accretions of 90 and 200 kg BW using 224 Goland C21 heavy pigs when exposed to different rearing conditions. The control pigs (C) received diets limiting ME up to 170 kg in slaughter weight (SW) at 9 months of age (SA); older (OA) pigs had restricted diets limiting ME and SID lysine up to 170 kg in SW at >9 months SA; younger (YA) pigs were fed nonlimited amounts of ME and SID lysine up to 170 kg in SW at 170 kg in SW. We confirmed that the estimated MEm averaged 1.03 MJ/kg0.60. An 11% increase in MEm was observed in OA pigs compared to the controls. Energy restriction had negligible effects on the estimated MEm. The marginal efficiency of SID lysine utilization for Pd averaged 0.725, corresponding to a 9.8 g/100 g Pd SID lysine requirement.In Italy, pigs must be slaughtered at 160 ± 16 kg body weight (BW) at 9 months of age for dry-cured ham production (control, C). In Chapter 1, we investigated three alternatives based on different feeding conditions to address the implications of changing the age and weight at slaughter of heavy pigs on carcass and green ham quality traits: 1) allowing pigs to express their growth potential by allowing them to achieve 160 ± 16 kg slaughter weight (SW) at younger slaughter age (SA) (younger Age, YA); 2) allowing pigs to express their growth potential by maximizing their SW at 9 months SA (greater weight, GW); 3) increasing the SA required to achieve 160 ± 16 kg SW (older age, OA). Pigs (336 C21 Goland, 95 kg initial body weight) were slaughtered at 257, 230, 257, and 273 d SA and 172.7, 172.3, 192.9, and 169.3 SW kg for the four treatments, respectively. C pigs had an average daily gain (ADG) of 715 g/d and feed efficiency (FE) of 0.265 (gain to feed). Compared to C, YA pigs had higher ADG (+32%), FE (+7.5%), and better ham adiposity; GW pigs had higher carcass weight (+12%), ADG (+25%), trimmed ham weight (+10.9%), and better ham adiposity. OA treatment affected ADG (−16.4%), FE (−16.6%), and trimmed ham weight (−3.6%). YA and GW could be promising alternatives to C as they improved FE and ham quality traits.
In Chapter 2, a total of 159 C21 Goland pigs (gilts and barrows) at 95 ± 9.0 kg BW from three batches were used to investigate the impact of ad libitum feeding on SW, growth performance, feed efficiency, and carcass and green ham characteristics. Diets contained 10 MJ/kg of net energy and 7.4 and 6.0 g/kg of SID-lysine. Slaughter weight classes (SWC) included 210 kg BW. In each batch, pigs were sacrificed at 230 or 258 d of age. Left hams were scored for round shape, fat cover thickness, marbling, lean colour, bicolour and veining. Data were analyzed with a model considering SWC, sex and SWC X Sex interactions as fixed factors and the batch as a random factor. The linear, quadratic and cubic effects of SWC were tested, but only linear effects were found. Results showed that pigs with greater SWC had greater average daily gain and feed consumption, with similar feed efficiency and better ham quality traits: greater ham weight, muscularity, and fat covering in correspondence of semimembranosus muscle. Barrows were heavier and produced hams with slightly better characteristics than gilts.
The current National Research Council (NRC) nutrient recommendations are based on pigs fed ad libitum up to 140 kg BW. It is unclear whether this applies to pigs weighing more than 140 kg in BW raised under different conditions. This was addressed in Chapter 3 using a mathematical modelling approach based on repeated BW and backfat (BF) measurements to estimate: i, Protein (Pd) and lipid (Ld) depositions; ii) Metabolizable energy (ME); iii) Standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID lysine) requirement, and partitioning the body protein and lipid accretions of 90 and 200 kg BW using 224 Goland C21 heavy pigs when exposed to different rearing conditions. The control pigs (C) received diets limiting ME up to 170 kg in slaughter weight (SW) at 9 months of age (SA); older (OA) pigs had restricted diets limiting ME and SID lysine up to 170 kg in SW at >9 months SA; younger (YA) pigs were fed nonlimited amounts of ME and SID lysine up to 170 kg in SW at 170 kg in SW. We confirmed that the estimated MEm averaged 1.03 MJ/kg0.60. An 11% increase in MEm was observed in OA pigs compared to the controls. Energy restriction had negligible effects on the estimated MEm. The marginal efficiency of SID lysine utilization for Pd averaged 0.725, corresponding to a 9.8 g/100 g Pd SID lysine requirement
Influence of Slaughter Weight and Sex on Growth Performance, Carcass Characteristics and Ham Traits of Heavy Pigs Fed Ad-Libitum
Get PDFSlaughter weight (SW) is critical for dry-cured ham production systems with heavy pigs. A total of 159 C21 Goland pigs (gilts and barrows) at 95 ± 9.0 kg body weight (BW) from three batches were used to investigate the impact of ad libitum feeding on SW, growth performance, feed efficiency, and carcass and green ham characteristics. Diets contained 10 MJ/kg of net energy and 7.4 and 6.0 g/kg of SID-lysine. Slaughter weight classes (SWC) included 210 kg BW. In each batch, pigs were sacrificed at 230 or 258 d of age. Left hams were scored for round shape, fat cover thickness, marbling, lean colour, bicolour and veining. Data were analyzed with a model considering SWC, sex and SWC × Sex interactions as fixed factors and the batch as a random factor. The linear, quadratic and cubic effects of SWC were tested, but only linear effects were found. Results showed that pigs with greater SWC had greater average daily gain and feed consumption, with similar feed efficiency and better ham quality traits: greater ham weight, muscularity, and fat coveringin correspondence of semimembranosus muscle. Barrows were heavier and produced hams with slightly better characteristics than gilts
Impact of innovative rearing strategies for the Italian heavy pigs: Technological traits and chemical composition of dry–cured hams
Get PDFTo explore the influence of 4 feeding strategies on dry-cured ham quality, 336 barrows and gilts (3 batches, 112 pigs/batch) of 90 kg body weight (BW), were divided into 4 groups and housed in 8 pens with automated feeders. In the control group (C), the pigs were fed restrictively medium-protein feeds and slaughtered at 170 kg BW (SW) and 265 d of slaughter age (SA). With the older age (OA) treatment, the pigs were restrictively fed low protein feeds and slaughtered at 170 kg SW and 278 d SA. The other two groups were fed ad libitum high protein feeds, the younger age (YA) group was slaughtered at 170 kg SW and 237 d SA, the greater weight (GW) at 265 d of SA and 194 kg SW. The hams were dry-cured and seasoned for 607 d, weighed before and after seasoning and deboning. Sixty hams were sampled and sliced. The lean and the fat tissues were separated and analyzed for proximate composition and fatty acid profile. The model of analysis considered sex and treatment as fixed factors. With respect to C: i) OA lowered the ham weight, the lean protein content, increased marbling and decreased the PUFA proportion in intramuscular and subcutaneous fat; ii) YA hams had thicker fat cover with lower PUFA in intramuscular and subcutaneous fat; iii) GW increased the deboned ham weight, fat cover depth and marbling, reduced PUFA in intramuscular and subcutaneous fat, without alteration of the lean moisture content. Sex had a negligible impact
Impact of Rearing Strategies on the Metabolizable Energy and SID Lysine Partitioning in Pigs Growing from 90 to 200 kg in Body Weight
Get PDFThe current nutrient recommendations focus on pigs fed ad libitum up to 140 kg in body weight (BW). It remains unclear whether this applies to pigs weighing above 140 kg in BW under different rearing conditions. This study aimed to estimate protein (Pd) and lipid (Ld) depositions and the metabolizable energy (ME), standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID lysine) requirement and partitioning in 224 C21 Goland pigs (90–200 kg in BW). The control pigs (C) received diets limiting ME up to 170 kg in slaughter weight (SW) at 9 months of age (SA); older (OA) pigs had restricted diets limiting ME and SID lysine up to 170 kg in SW at >9 months SA; younger (YA) pigs were fed nonlimited amounts of ME and SID lysine up to 170 kg in SW at 170 kg in SW. The estimated MEm averaged 1.03 MJ/kg0.60. An 11% increase in MEm was observed in OA pigs compared to the controls. Energy restriction had negligible effects on the estimated MEm. The marginal efficiency of SID lysine utilization for Pd averaged 0.725, corresponding to a SID lysine requirement of 9.8 g/100 g Pd
Effects of slaughter weight and backfat depth on trimming, curing, and deboning losses and quality traits of Italian dry-cured ham
Get PDFThis study aimed at assessing the effects of two infra-vitam traits, specifically the slaughter weight (SW) and the ultrasound backfat depth (BCKF) on several post-mortem and quality traits of typical Prosciutto Veneto protected designation of origin (PDO) dry-cured ham. The trial was conducted on a population of 423 pigs fed using different strategies to generate a high variation in SW (175 ± 15.5 kg) and BCKF (23.16 ± 4.14 mm). All the left thighs were weighed at slaughter and the ham factory during the different processing phases. The fat cover depth of green trimmed hams was measured. Data were analyzed with a linear model including SW classified in tertiles, BCKF as a covariate, SW × BCKF interaction, sex, batch, and pen nested within batch. Our results highlighted that, for each 10 kg increase in SW, trimmed and seasoned ham weights increased by 0.76 and 0.54 kg, respectively. The increase in SW significantly reduced relative curing and deboning losses but did not affect ham fat cover depth and trimming losses. A rise in BCKF increased the ham fat cover depth and trimming losses and decreased the curing and deboning losses. Increases in SW and BCKF improved quality traits of the seasoned ham including fat cover depth, visible marbling, inner lean firmness, and fat color. These findings confirm the feasibility of increasing SW and BCKF, which will result in a reduction in the relative losses associated with the dry-curing process while improving the quality of the seasoned ham
Characterization of dry-cured ham microbiota at 12 months of seasoning obtained from different rearing strategies using 16S rRNA profiling
Get PDFIn this study, we investigated the microbiota of 72 Italian ham samples collected after 12 months of seasoning. The hams were elaborated from pigs fed different rearing methods, including the traditional restricted medium protein diet chosen as control (C group); restrictive low protein diet (LP group); two ad libitum high -protein diet groups (HP9M group: slaughter at 9 months of age; HP170 group: slaughter at 170 kg). A multi-amplicon 16S metabarcoding approach was used, and a total of 2845 Amplicon Sequence Variants were obtained from the 72 ham samples. Main phyla included: Firmicutes (90.8%), Actinobacteria (6.2%), Proteobacteria (2.7%), and Bacteroidota (0.12%). The most common genera were Staphylococcus, Tetragenococcus, and Brevibacterium . Shannon index for alpha-diversity was found statistically significant, notably for the HP9M group, indicating higher diversity compared to C. PERMANOVA test on beta-diversity showed significant differences in rearing methods between HP170 and C, HP170 and LP, and HP9M vs. C. All three rearing methods revealed associations with characteristic communities: the HP9M group had the highest number of associations, many of which were due to spoilage bacteria, whereas the LP group had the highest number of seasoning -favourable genera
PCR and qPCR-based applications in rumen microbiology research: a review
Get PDFThe rumen and its microbial ecosystem play a central role in the overall nutrition and health of ruminant animals. However, development and homeostatic state of the entire gut system is influenced by different interrelated factors. Recent developments in molecular diagnostic tools by using amplicon sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA and use of high-throughput data generated through applications of pyrosequencing is a promising approach to defining the rumen microbial genome. Several procedures such as genome-wide shotgun sequencing for metagenomic data generation to predict how the rumen microbiota works, bacterial DNA integration in order to construct or edit genomes of isolated microbes and several other „omic”-based technologies based on PCR and real-time PCR (qPCR), have elucidated the complexity of the rumen microbiota. These tools are more sensitive and precise in quantitation, identification and functional characterisation of the entire rumen microbiome. PCR/qPCR enables investigations of changes in the microbiome and microbiota with respect to age, diet, species and environmental variations thus providing new information about rumen microbial genome. In this review, we will highlight recent findings using PCR and qPCR-based procedures in investigating the complex nature of the rumen microbial population which has advanced our knowledge and understanding of the rumen microbiome
The Effect of Motivators and Barriers on Attitudes and Willingness to Consume Dairy Functional Foods in Hungary
No full textAs the global trend for healthy eating grows, firms are emphasising dairy functional foods (DFFs). This study looks into the relationship between consumer attitudes and readiness to consume DFFs, taking into account how a healthy lifestyle might both motivate and deter people from using them. Hungary was chosen because consumer behaviour towards functional foods is under-researched in comparison to Western Europe. Data were generated using a survey questionnaire from 313 respondents. The results of Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis revealed that consumer attitudes had a considerable influence on the desire to consume DFFs. Furthermore, the motivators and barriers had a direct influence on willingness through the consumer attitudes that serve as mediators. These findings show the need for targeting consumer attitudes and lifestyle characteristics in order to increase the market acceptance of DFFs
Genes Related to Fat Metabolism in Pigs and Intramuscular Fat Content of Pork: A Focus on Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics
No full textFat metabolism and intramuscular fat (IMF) are qualitative traits in pigs whose development are influenced by several genes and metabolic pathways. Nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics offer prospects in estimating nutrients required by a pig. Application of these emerging fields in nutritional science provides an opportunity for matching nutrients based on the genetic make-up of the pig for trait improvements. Today, integration of high throughput “omics” technologies into nutritional genomic research has revealed many quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for the mutation(s) of key genes directly or indirectly involved in fat metabolism and IMF deposition in pigs. Nutrient–gene interaction and the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in fatty acid synthesis and marbling in pigs is difficult to unravel. While existing knowledge on QTLs and SNPs of genes related to fat metabolism and IMF development is yet to be harmonized, the scientific explanations behind the nature of the existing correlation between the nutrients, the genes and the environment remain unclear, being inconclusive or lacking precision. This paper aimed to: (1) discuss nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics and epigenetic mechanisms controlling fat metabolism and IMF accretion in pigs; (2) highlight the potentials of these concepts in pig nutritional programming and research
Effect of different dietary lysine level on the functioning of genes participating in buildup of intramuscular fat in pork: Article
No full textThe eating quality of pork, e.g. its taste and tenderness are favourably affected by inter- and intramuscular fat (IMF) content. Many genes are involved in forming the fat deposited in the meat and especially in between the muscle fibres, among others, the genes of the FABP family (FABP3, FABP4), the LEPR gene, the SDC and the FASN. The objective of this trial was to study whether a moderate change in dietary Lys content (approximately 6%) through the growing and fattening period results in a shift in the expression of genes involved in fat metabolism (FABP3, FABP4, LEPR, SDC and FASN). In the study, Danbred pigs were assigned from a fattening study that involved 96 pigs (50-50% barrows and gilts) from about 25 kg to 125kg live weight. The animals received three-phase feeding and the feeds were formulated according to their requirements. The dietary treatments were set by diets containing different Lys levels in all phases: 10.9, 9.1 g/kg, and 8.3 g/kg vs 11.5, 9.6 and 9.0 g/kg Lys, respectively. The pigs were slaughtered in 125 kg live weight and carcass classification through lean meat % was performed. Meat samples from the carcass were taken within 30 minutes post-mortem from the longissimus dorsi muscle. Gene expression levels were quantified using RT-qPCR analysis. The results indicated that variations in dietary lysine (Lys) content did not significantly influence slaughter quality or the expression levels of genes associated with fat metabolism. Consequently, it can be inferred that a 10% difference from the recommended Lys content does not alter lipid synthesis in the longissimus dorsi muscle of pigs.The eating quality of pork, e.g. its taste and tenderness are favourably affected by inter- and intramuscular fat (IMF) content. Many genes are involved in forming the fat deposited in the meat and especially in between the muscle fibres, among others, the genes of the FABP family (FABP3, FABP4), the LEPR gene, the SDC and the FASN. The objective of this trial was to study whether a moderate change in dietary Lys content (approximately 6%) through the growing and fattening period results in a shift in the expression of genes involved in fat metabolism (FABP3, FABP4, LEPR, SDC and FASN). In the study, Danbred pigs were assigned from a fattening study that involved 96 pigs (50-50% barrows and gilts) from about 25 kg to 125kg live weight. The animals received three-phase feeding and the feeds were formulated according to their requirements. The dietary treatments were set by diets containing different Lys levels in all phases: 10.9, 9.1 g/kg, and 8.3 g/kg vs 11.5, 9.6 and 9.0 g/kg Lys, respectively. The pigs were slaughtered in 125 kg live weight and carcass classification through lean meat % was performed. Meat samples from the carcass were taken within 30 minutes post-mortem from the longissimus dorsi muscle. Gene expression levels were quantified using RT-qPCR analysis. The results indicated that variations in dietary lysine (Lys) content did not significantly influence slaughter quality or the expression levels of genes associated with fat metabolism. Consequently, it can be inferred that a 10% difference from the recommended Lys content does not alter lipid synthesis in the longissimus dorsi muscle of pigs
