title: Influence of Chinese breeds on pork quality of commercial pig lines.
abstract: We compared carcass and meat quality of pigs from the same sire line and two different dam lines, one that included Chinese breeds and one that did not. Line A consisted of 1/4 Landrace, 1/2 Large White, 1/8 Chinese breeds (Meishan, Fengjing, Jiaxing), and 1/8 Large White, Duroc and Pietrain, and line B consisted of 1/2 Large White and 1/2 Pietrain. The animals (N = 144) were slaughtered at a live weight of 108 kg. Backfat thickness, percentage of lean meat, pH 24 h after slaughter, meat color, percentage of drip loss, and percentage of intramuscular fat were measured and compared using analysis of variance in a completely randomized design; the BioEstat 5.0 test was applied for the comparison of means at a significance level of 5% for all analyses. Backfat was significantly lower for line A (12.78 mm) than for line B (15.90 mm). The pH measured 24 h after slaughter was significantly lower in line A (5.68) compared to line B (5.84). Percent lean meat was significantly higher for line A (61.21%) compared to line B (59.72%). Percentage drip loss was significantly higher in line A (2.73%) than in line B (2.23%). Percentage intramuscular fat and meat color were not significantly different between the lines. The inclusion of Chinese breeds produced a higher percentage of lean meat and reduced fat thickness, along with increased heterosis, which are important characteristics for breeding programs.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil. aline_cesar@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: A S M
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Cesar
authors.forename: A C P
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Silveira
authors.forename: P F A
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: D F A
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Batista
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Torido
authors.forename: F V
authors.initials: FV
authors.lastname: Meirelles
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Antunes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D002681:China; D003132:Commerce; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D008460:Meat / Q000592:standards*; D013552:Swine