Research Article

Carcass and meat quality traits of four commercial pig crossbreeds in China

Published: December 17, 2012
Genet. Mol. Res. 11 (4) : 4447-4455 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4238/2012.September.19.6
Cite this Article:
Y.Z. Jiang, L. Zhu, G.Q. Tang, M.Z. Li, A.A. Jiang, W.M. Cen, S.H. Xing, J.N. Chen, A.X. Wen, T. He, Q. Wang, G.X. Zhu, M. Xie, X.W. Li (2012). Carcass and meat quality traits of four commercial pig crossbreeds in China. Genet. Mol. Res. 11(4): 4447-4455. https://doi.org/10.4238/2012.September.19.6
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Abstract

We evaluated carcass and meat quality traits of two Chinese native crossbreeds Landrace x Meishan (LM) and Duroc x (Landrace x Meishan) (DLM) and two foreign crossbreeds Duroc x (Landrace x Yorkshire) (DLY) and PIC (an imported five-way crossbreed). One hundred and twenty weaned pigs (half castrated males and half females) were reared and slaughtered at a predestinated slaughter age. The general carcass and meat quality traits were measured and analyzed. The DLY and PIC crosses had significantly heavier live weights (93.39 and 96.33 kg, P < 0.01), significantly higher dressing percentages (80.65 and 79.39%, P < 0.05), significantly bigger loin areas (42.69 and 43.91 cm2, P < 0.001), and significantly more lean carcasses (65.78 and 66.40%, P < 0.001) than LM and DLM. On the other hand, LM had a significantly lower live weight (70.29 kg, P < 0.01), significantly thicker back fat (3.54 cm, P < 0.001), significantly less lean carcasses (46.82%, P < 0.001), and significantly less ham and breech (26.53%, P < 0.05) than the other crossbreeds. Among meat quality parameters, LM had the highest intramuscular fat content (5.02%, P < 0.001) and the smallest fiber area (3126.45 μm2, P < 0.01). However, PIC showed the lowest pH1 (5.82, P < 0.01) and pH2 (5.63, P < 0.01), the highest drip loss (2.89%, P < 0.01), and the lowest intramuscular fat (1.35%, P < 0.001). We concluded that LM and DLM had good meat quality traits but poorer carcass traits than DLY and PIC; DLY had good carcass and meat quality traits; PIC had good carcass traits, but it had less intramuscular fat, lower pH and higher drip loss.

We evaluated carcass and meat quality traits of two Chinese native crossbreeds Landrace x Meishan (LM) and Duroc x (Landrace x Meishan) (DLM) and two foreign crossbreeds Duroc x (Landrace x Yorkshire) (DLY) and PIC (an imported five-way crossbreed). One hundred and twenty weaned pigs (half castrated males and half females) were reared and slaughtered at a predestinated slaughter age. The general carcass and meat quality traits were measured and analyzed. The DLY and PIC crosses had significantly heavier live weights (93.39 and 96.33 kg, P 2, P 2, P 1 (5.82, P 2 (5.63, P