The effect of seasonality of the growing–finishing period on carcass, meat and fat characteristics of heavy barrows and gilts
Introduction
Stress factors, such as extreme temperatures, produce physiological responses in the animal altering metabolism (Breinekova, Smutna, Svoboda, & Vorlova, 2006). The effects of high environmental temperatures on the growth rate and feed intake of pigs are well documented (López et al., 1991a, White et al., 2008, Witte et al., 2000). Heat-stressed pigs decrease feed intake in order to reduce metabolic heat production and maintain homeothermy, and this results in slower growth. Moreover, this decreased growth is associated with changes in the proportion of tissues in the carcass with an increase in lean yield (Lefaucheur et al., 1991). Also, low environmental temperatures negatively affect swine performance. López, Jesse, Becker, and Ellersieck (1991b) reported that pigs housed between −5 and −8 °C ate less feed, grew more slowly and had a worse feed conversion ratio than those housed at 20 °C.
However, in the literature, data about the effect of high or low temperatures on meat quality are scarce and often disagree. García-Rey, Quiles-Zafra, and Luque de Castro (2005) found higher intramuscular fat (IMF) content in pigs slaughtered after cold months than after hot ones whereas Lefaucheur et al. (1991) and White et al. (2008) did not report any influence. Many factors could interact with the environmental temperature such as genotype (García-Rey et al., 2005), kind of transport (Gosálvez, Averós, Valdelvira, & Herranz, 2006), stocking at farm (Honeyman and Harmon, 2003, Kerr et al., 2005) or feeding (Le Bellego, van Milgen, & Noblet, 2002).
Most studies were conducted with pigs slaughtered at 90–100 kg body weight (BW), in the same period of the year and in countries (i.e. United Kingdom or Denmark) where the climate conditions are relatively stable. However, in Mediterranean countries, such as Spain where very high and low temperatures may be found throughout the year, carcass, meat and fat quality of pigs might be mainly affected by seasonality. In addition, extreme temperatures have greater influence on the finishing phase of the pig (Le Bellego et al., 2002). Therefore, this might be more important in the case of animals slaughtered above 120 kg BW intended for dry-cured products. On the other hand, although there have been several previous studies (Latorre et al., 2008a, Latorre et al., 2004, Latorre et al., 2009) comparing heavy barrows and gilts in carcass, meat and fat traits, the possibility of the season of the year affecting these traits irrespective of the gender has not been evaluated.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to ascertain the effect of gender (barrows and gilts), seasonality of the growing–finishing period (summer or winter) and the interaction between them on carcass characteristics, meat quality and the fatty acid (FA) profile of heavy pigs.
Section snippets
Animals, experimental conditions and slaughter procedures
The protocol of animal care and experimental procedures used in this study conformed to Boletín Oficial Estado (2005). A total of 40 Duroc × (Landrace × Large White) pigs (25 ± 1.7 kg BW and 81 ± 3 d of age) were chosen randomly to study the effect of gender (barrows; gilts) and seasonality of the growing–finishing phase (S: summer; W: winter) on carcass and meat quality and FA profile of the subcutaneous fat. Males were castrated at 4 ± 1 d of age. Barrows and gilts were in the same proportion in each
Temperature variations during the trial
The evolution and mean data of the temperatures throughout the trial are in Table 1 and Fig. 1. In summer, the maximum and minimum temperatures were 27.8 °C (range 20.5–38.5 °C) and 13.2 °C (range 7.0–29.0 °C), respectively. In winter, the maximum and minimum temperatures were 13.0 °C (range 5.0–25.0 °C) and 1.8 °C (range −4.0–9.0 °C), respectively.
There were no significant interactions between gender and seasonality for any of the carcass, meat or fat variables, and therefore only main effects are
Temperature and slaughter day measurements
The ideal ambient temperature (thermal comfort zone) for a pig depends on the BW; the requirements decrease as BW increases. Whittemore (1998) reports that in general, a growing–finishing pig needs 18 ± 1 °C from 30 to 60 kg BW and 16 ± 1 °C from 60 to 120 kg BW. In the current trial, the mean temperature during summer was close to the recommended value but the range was wide and even 33 °C was occasionally reached. During winter, the temperatures were very cold, scoring close to zero on several days.
Conclusions
Any effect of seasonality was independent of gender. There were only slight differences in carcass, meat or fat characteristics between barrows and gilts slaughtered at heavy weight. Under Spanish conditions and in natural-environment facilities, the S pigs had better carcass quality than W pigs due to the higher yield of primal trimmed lean cuts but worse meat and fat quality because of the lower intramuscular fat content and tenderness and higher saturation of subcutaneous fat. If the aim is
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by CDTI Project 20060926. The authors would like to thank Integraciones Porcinas S.L. and Jamones y Embutidos Alto Mijares S.L. (Teruel, Spain) for the samples and M.D. García-Cachán for help in the analyses of the meat and fat samples.
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