The effect of sex on the meat quality charachteristics of large white pigs

Abstract

The total of 20 Large White (LW) pigs were used to study the effect of sex on the meat quality characteristics of the breed. All the animals were reared in similar conditions and slaughtered at 34 weeks of age. Reports indicate that males were heavier than female (34.5 kg versus 29.9 kg; p<0.05). The m. longissimus dorsi of boars and gilts were similar in water holding capacity, drip loss and cooking loss (p>0.05). Although, sex related differences in tenderness, juiciness and flavor were not significant (p>0.05, significant differences (p<0.05) were found for the off flavor characteristics. After 14 days of frozen storage, 89% of the taste panelists judged from the flavor characteristics that pork samples from boars were chicken samples whereas only 29% of the panelists indicated that pork samples from gilts were chicken.

Keywords: Pig, Large White, meat quality, sex, flavor

> Animal Production Research Advances Vol. 2 (4) 2006: pp. 258-261