Effect of immunological castration management strategy on lipid oxidation and sensory characteristics of bacon stored under simulated food service conditions

The Use of Pork from Entire Male and Immunocastrated Pigs for Meat Products-An Overview with Recommendations

Due to the strong public initiative in Europe and increased regulator focus to mitigate pain, surgical castration of pigs is being gradually abandoned, while the importance of other sex categories like entire males (EM) and immunocastrates (IC) increases. Although beneficial for animal welfare and economics, their use also brings forward several quality problems. Besides the occurrence of boar taint in EM, these include excessive carcass leanness, softer fat, meat color and pH deviations, inferior water holding capacity and increased meat toughness. In this paper, the raw material differences between the male sex categories and their influence on product quality are reviewed, and possible solutions are presented. Using EM for dried or thermally processed products may result in lower processing yields and inferior sensory quality, which may partially be prevented by applying specific processing adaptations. Immunocastration is a viable solution, especially when prolonging the vaccination to slaughter interval. Low to medium levels of boar taint can be effectively managed in most of the meat products, applying procedures like cooking, microbial inoculation or masking (by spices and especially smoking), while highly tainted material can be valorized only by combining various methods and/or with dilution of the tainted meat.

Effect of Salt Inclusion Level on Commercial Bacon Processing and Slicing Yields

The objectives were to determine effects of salt inclusion on production yields, commercial slicing yields, sensory characteristics, and lipid oxidation of bacon. A total of 144 bellies that ranged in weight from 5.8 to 6.6 kg were selected from 2 different suppliers. Fresh bellies were weighed to determine an initial weight (green weight). Then, bellies were randomly assigned to salt levels of 1.2, 1.5, or 1.8% in the final product and manufactured into bacon. Bacon was stored frozen, in aerobic packages, for approximately 0 d, 30 d, 60 d, or 90 d and analyzed for lipid oxidation. Sensory analysis was conducted approximately 14 d after slicing and again 90 d later. Cook yield was increased (P ≤ 0.05) in 1.2% bacon compared with 1.5 and 1.8% bacon, but slicing yield was 1% unit greater (P ≤ 0.05) in 1.8% bacon compared with 1.2% bacon. Increasing salt content from 1.5 to 1.8% increased the number of bacon slices generated from a slab of bacon by 12 slices and by nearly 16 slices when compared with the 1.2% treatment. Sensory saltiness increased (P ≤ 0.05) as intended salt level increased. Lipid oxidation and oxidized odor and flavor intensity was not different among salt treatment levels within any storage period. Reducing salt from 1.8 to 1.2% in bacon can adversely affect slicing yield, but was not detrimental to cook yield and did not reduce the rate of lipid oxidation of bacon.

Effect of Salt Inclusion Level on Commercial Bacon Processing and Slicing Yields

The objectives were to determine effects of salt inclusion on production yields, commercial slicing yields, sensory characteristics, and lipid oxidation of bacon. A total of 144 bellies that ranged in weight from 5.8 to 6.6 kg were selected from 2 different suppliers. Fresh bellies were weighed to determine an initial weight (green weight). Then, bellies were randomly assigned to salt levels of 1.2, 1.5, or 1.8% in the final product and manufactured into bacon. Bacon was stored frozen, in aerobic packages, for approximately 0 d, 30 d, 60 d, or 90 d and analyzed for lipid oxidation. Sensory analysis was conducted approximately 14 d after slicing and again 90 d later. Cook yield was increased (P ≤ 0.05) in 1.2% bacon compared with 1.5 and 1.8% bacon, but slicing yield was 1% unit greater (P ≤ 0.05) in 1.8% bacon compared with 1.2% bacon. Increasing salt content from 1.5 to 1.8% increased the number of bacon slices generated from a slab of bacon by 12 slices and by nearly 16 slices when compared with the 1.2% treatment. Sensory saltiness increased (P ≤ 0.05) as intended salt level increased. Lipid oxidation and oxidized odor and flavor intensity was not different among salt treatment levels within any storage period. Reducing salt from 1.8 to 1.2% in bacon can adversely affect slicing yield, but was not detrimental to cook yield and did not reduce the rate of lipid oxidation of bacon.

A summary review of carcass cutability data comparing primal value of immunologically and physically castrated barrows

The objectives were to 1) assess cutability, quality, and value of carcasses from immunologically castrated (IC) barrows compared with carcasses from physically castrated (PC) barrows and 2) evaluate the effect of hot carcass weight (HCW) on cutability and value of IC barrows summarizing U.S. data. Lean cutting yield (LCY) was defined as: LCY = [(whole ham + trimmed loin + Boston butt + picnic + spareribs)/chilled side wt] x 100. Carcass cutting yield (CCY) was determined using the following equation: CCY = [(lean cutting yield components + natural fall belly)/chilled side wt] x 100. To evaluate the effects of HCW of IC barrows on carcass cutting yields, IC barrows were grouped by HCW: light ( < 90.9 kg), average (90.9–97.7 kg), or heavy ( > 97.7 kg). Differences in the value of the carcass components for IC and PC barrow carcasses were calculated using a 5 yr average of meat prices from the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service and the carcass cutting yield estimates generated from this summary. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS with fixed effects of Improvest treatment or HCW group. Study was included as a random effect. This review allowed for a summarization of the treatment averages of 851 IC and PC barrow carcasses. Lean cutting yield of IC barrows was 1.41 units greater (P < 0.0001) than PC barrows (70.97 vs. 69.56%). Similarly, CCY of IC barrows was 1.29 units greater (P < 0.001) compared with PC barrows (87.27 vs. 85.98%). As HCW of IC barrows increased, both CCY and LCY declined (P < 0.01), with light IC barrow carcasses having a 1.43 unit advantage in CCY compared with heavy IC barrow carcasses (P < 0.01). Natural fall bellies of PC barrows comprised a greater (P < 0.05) percentage of side weight than those from IC barrows (15.81 vs. 15.50%). A reduction in belly primal value was confirmed by a 3.43 unit reduction in the commercial bacon slicing yields of IC barrows. However, belly yield and slicing yield differences were minimized when IC barrows were marketed at a heavier weight. Using carcass cutout estimates determined in the summary as the foundation for value calculations, lean cuts of IC barrow carcasses were worth $2.66 to $3.80 more than PC barrow carcasses. Therefore, after adjustment for the reduction in belly primal value, the primal value of an IC barrow carcass was $2.08 to $3.13 greater than a PC barrow carcass.