RESUMO
Alternatives to the common castration (C) practice of piglets are surgical castration under anaesthesia and rearing entire males (EM) or immunocastrates (IC). It is well established that boar taint hinders the breakthrough of these options. Less is known how avoiding surgical castration would affect carcass characteristics and pork quality. The objective of this meta-analysis was to estimate the impact of lack of castration on quality traits besides boar taint. The most marked effect of castration method and gender was found in lean meat and intramuscular fat percentage. Compared to EM, carcass leanness was estimated to be greater (P<0.05) and intramuscular fat level lower (P<0.05) than in C, IC and females. Regarding pork quality traits only the difference in shear force between IC and EM was of relevant magnitude. This meta-analysis revealed that the implementation of EM production should not be hindered by pork quality concerns.
Assuntos
Tecido Adiposo Branco/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Adiposidade , Qualidade dos Alimentos , Carne/análise , Desenvolvimento Muscular , Músculo Esquelético/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Sus scrofa/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Tecido Adiposo Branco/química , Criação de Animais Domésticos , Animais , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Fenômenos Mecânicos , Músculo Esquelético/química , Sensação , Caracteres Sexuais , Resistência ao CisalhamentoRESUMO
Beside surgical castration possible alternatives helping to reduce the incidence of boar taint in cooked pork are rearing conditions, immunocastration and feeding strategies for entire males known to lower the skatole levels. The goal of this study was to assess the effects of these alternatives on the sensory acceptability of pork. In experiment 1, carcasses from barrows, entire males (EM) and entire males fed raw potato starch (EM+) 7d before slaughter were selected based on the androstenone (