Characterizing the amount and variability of intramuscular fat deposition of pork loins using barrows and gilts from two sire lines
type: CreativeWork
description: Two subsequent studies were conducted to characterize marbling variability in pigs. A total of 196 pigs (at 10 weeks of age) were raised in a 98 d growth study. Pigs were fed in a university finisher barn in pens of 4 pigs each. Equal numbers of barrows and gilts sired by boars targeting meat quality or lean growth were used. All pigs were fed the same corn-soybean diet formulated to meet or exceed nutrient requirements based on the 2012 National Research Council requirements of swine, for a 3-phase feeding program. All pigs were ultrasonically scanned at wk 10, 15, 20, and 24 of age to estimate marbling, back fat, and loin depth. Two or four contemporary pigs were scanned at each of these time points and then slaughtered on the following day to validate the ultrasound procedure. All trial pigs were slaughtered at 24 weeks of age, and loins were collected. Bone-in loins were sliced into 2.54 cm thick chops. Chops from the 6th rib, 10th rib, last rib and 4th lumbar vertebrae were analyzed for visual color and visual marbling, subjective firmness, extractable lipid (IMF) and moisture content, and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF). Determination of marbling from ultrasound images in this trial was not an accurate indicator of marbling deposition throughout the growing phase. Ultrasonic values overestimated marbling in young pigs and reported a lesser range of values than was actually observed in market weight pigs. This could be due to technician error or use of the technology outside of the recommended scope of use. Data from the serial slaughter of young pigs did not validate ultrasonic marbling estimates, but it did provide valuable information about marbling deposition. The pattern of marbling with maximum values and minimum values observed along the length of the loin at early ages mimicked the pattern observed in market weight pigs. Even though intramuscular fat is often thought of as a tissue that develops later in life, the differences in marbling deposition a…
abstract: Two subsequent studies were conducted to characterize marbling variability in pigs. A total of 196 pigs (at 10 weeks of age) were raised in a 98 d growth study. Pigs were fed in a university finisher barn in pens of 4 pigs each. Equal numbers of barrows and gilts sired by boars targeting meat quality or lean growth were used. All pigs were fed the same corn-soybean diet formulated to meet or exceed nutrient requirements based on the 2012 National Research Council requirements of swine, for a 3-phase feeding program. All pigs were ultrasonically scanned at wk 10, 15, 20, and 24 of age to estimate marbling, back fat, and loin depth. Two or four contemporary pigs were scanned at each of these time points and then slaughtered on the following day to validate the ultrasound procedure. All trial pigs were slaughtered at 24 weeks of age, and loins were collected. Bone-in loins were sliced into 2.54 cm thick chops. Chops from the 6th rib, 10th rib, last rib and 4th lumbar vertebrae were analyzed for visual color and visual marbling, subjective firmness, extractable lipid (IMF) and moisture content, and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF). Determination of marbling from ultrasound images in this trial was not an accurate indicator of marbling deposition throughout the growing phase. Ultrasonic values overestimated marbling in young pigs and reported a lesser range of values than was actually observed in market weight pigs. This could be due to technician error or use of the technology outside of the recommended scope of use. Data from the serial slaughter of young pigs did not validate ultrasonic marbling estimates, but it did provide valuable information about marbling deposition. The pattern of marbling with maximum values and minimum values observed along the length of the loin at early ages mimicked the pattern observed in market weight pigs. Even though intramuscular fat is often thought of as a tissue that develops later in life, the differences in marbling deposition a…
author: Redifer, Jack Dalton
language: en
keywords: chop location, IMF, pork, variability
date published: 2020-08-26T21:58:03Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:47Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/108038