Combined effects of weather conditions, transportation time and loading density on carcass damages and meat quality of market-weight pigs

Nikola Čobanović; Saša Novaković; Igor Tomašević; Nedjeljko Karabasil

doi:10.5194/aab-64-425-2021

Combined effects of weather conditions, transportation time and loading density on carcass damages and meat quality of market-weight pigs

Arch Anim Breed. 2021 Oct 14;64(2):425-435. doi: 10.5194/aab-64-425-2021. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Nikola Čobanović¹, Saša Novaković², Igor Tomašević², Nedjeljko Karabasil¹

Affiliations

¹ University of Belgrade, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Bulevar oslobodjenja 18, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
² University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia.

Abstract

This study investigated the interactive effects of weather conditions, transportation time and loading density on carcass damages and meat quality traits of market-weight pigs under commercial conditions. The following pork quality parameters were measured: pH and temperature; colour; drip, thawing and cooking loss; and textural traits. Pigs were assigned to one of eight groups arranged in a 2 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2 factorial design according to the weather conditions (hot and cold), transportation time (short and long) and loading density (high and low). A three-way ANOVA and Tukey's post-test (multiple comparisons) were performed to assess the differences between groups in examined pork quality traits. Pigs exposed to short transportation ( $\sim$ 20 $\min$ ) at high loading density (0.29 $m^{2} / 100 kg$ ) during hot weather conditions produced meat with the lowest initial and ultimate meat pH value and sensory colour scores, and the highest initial temperature and the occurrence of pale, soft and exudative pork. The occurrence of pale, soft and exudative pork was reduced 5-fold during hot weather conditions when pigs were exposed to longer transportation ( $\sim$ 210 $\min$ ) and low loading density (0.53 $m^{2} / 100 kg$ ). Pigs exposed to short transportation ( $\sim$ 20 $\min$ ) at high loading density (0.41 $m^{2} / 100 kg$ ) during cold weather conditions produced the highest quality pork (the highest percentage of red, firm and non-exudative pork) characterised by lowest drip loss and $b^{*}$ value and the highest sensory colour scores. The highest percentages of carcass damages were recorded in pigs exposed to both low (0.50 $m^{2} / 100 kg$ ) and high (0.33 $m^{2} / 100 kg$ ) loading density during long transportation ( $\sim$ 210 $\min$ ) in cold weather conditions. In conclusion, weather conditions and loading density are of greater importance for the occurrence of carcass damages and pork quality variation than transportation time.