Carcass and meat sensory quality of Bandjock local and Crossbred Pigs

M O S Ghomsi^1,2*, R S Maafo¹, N S Pechangou¹, F E Eyenga^1,2, H T Mouafo³, K A Etchu² and P F Moundipa¹

¹ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1, P. O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon
² Animal Production and Fisheries Division, Institute of Agricultural Research and Development (IRAD), P O Box 2067, Yaoundé, Cameroon
³ Centre for Food, Food Security and Nutrition Research, Institute for Medical Research and Medicinal Plant Studies, P O Box 13033, Yaoundé, Cameroon
* ghomsi85@gmail.com

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the impact of breed on the carcass, meat quality, and sensory properties of two pig breeds, the Bandjock Local Pig (BLP) and the crossbred Duroc X Large White (DLW) pigs. The experiment involved dividing 24 eight-week-old weaners into two groups, each randomly assigned to six two-pig units. The animals received similar feeding and management, while the study lasted for 120 days. The study found that carcass weight and backfat thickness were greater in DLW in comparison to BLP (p<0.05). DLW demonstrated significantly higher values in fat content and cooking loss than BLP (p<0.05). Both BLP and DLW displayed similar levels of lightness, redness, and yellowness in the meat (p>0.05). Furthermore, BLP exhibited decreased pH levels at 45 minutes and 24 hours compared to DLW (p<0.05). Significant high scores in meat quality (loin, ham, and shoulder) were achieved by sensory panelists for BLP compared to DLW, respectively (p<0.05). However, other sensory traits did not differ between breeds. These results imply that carcass characteristics improved in DLW than BLP, but BLP had better sensory properties. This study provides fundamental data on the meat quality of BLP and DLW.

Key words: indigenous swine, organoleptic property, pork characteristic

Introduction

Cameroonian pig breeds include imported breeds, crossbred, and local breeds such as Bakossi, Bakweri, and Bandjock (Ebwanga et al 2021). Local pig breeds are currently under threat of extinction; they provide resources for the development of new breeds, as well as for conserving biodiversity (Auqui et al 2019). Their production are specialized sectors that face important economic pressures (Nevrkla et al 2021). Its production systems have the potential to meet the high standards and demands of developed society concerning environmental sustainability and food quality (Martins et al 2020).

The Nagoya Protocol establishing obligations for its contracting parties to implement strategies related to access to genetic resources, benefit-sharing, and compliance, there is a heightened focus on the conservation and utilization of indigenous genetic resources (Choi and Oh 2016). Therefore, several countries have attempted to enhance the poor economic characteristics of indigenous swine by crossbreeding them with other breeds (Kim et al 2018). An explanation for the growing attraction towards local pig breeds is the superior quality of their meat as compared to improved breeds (Jiang et al., 2011). The Bandjock Local Pig (BLP) is recognized for producing high-quality meat (Ghomsi et al 2022).

Live weight at slaughter is one of the most important economic factors in pig production (Choi and Oh 2016). The pH level, drip loss, and color are meat quality characteristic (Aaslyng and Hviid 2020). Nonetheless, enhancing meat and carcass quality are crucial for pig breeders in order to respond to the demands of consumers for superior pork quality (Huang et al 2020). The breed's correlations between pork quality and carcass characteristics and other economic importance traits are limited (Miar et al 2014). The carcass and sensory quality of BLP have not been studied yet although, their meat is particularly appreciated by the consumers. Therefore, this study was designed and aimed for comparing the carcass and meat sensory quality of the (BLP) and the Crossbred Duroc X Large White (DLW) pig.

Methodology

Site of the study

The study was conducted at the experimental farm of the Institute for Research and Agricultural Development (3°51'53'' N and 11°25'27'' E). The institution is located in the humid forest agro-ecological zone of Cameroon. That zone is characterized by an average annual temperature of 25°C, a bimodal rainfall varying between 1500 to 2500 mm/year, and a relative humidity of 70 to 90%. (Djoufack 2011).

Animals

A total of 24 weaned piglets aged between 6 and 8 weeks were divided into 2 treatments (T1, T2,) including 12 PLB and 12 DLW weighing on average 6.40±1.20 kg and 7.87±1.70Kg respectively, after 2-week accommodation. The pigs were housed in groups of 2 (forming one experimental unit) in crates, making 6 experimental units per treatment. Both treatment of growing pigs were creep-fed on a 20% crude protein diet and 2656 Kcal digestible energy, 4.9 % fat matter. The pigs were taken for slaughter at 6 months age, with respect of ethic (Reference No: BTC-JIRB2021-011).

Slaughter procedures

For each group, 4 animals were slaughtered. The animals were fasted for 12 hours before being slaughtered early in the morning. After bleeding through the jugular vein section, the animal was first scalded, dehaired, eviscerated, split into two half-carcasses, and then rescued at room temperature (~25°C). The carcass length was taken from the right half of a hanging carcass, spaced between the anterior edge of the first rib and the anterior edge of the pubic bone. The carcass characteristics were recorded on the four pigs from each treatment of equivalent final average weight. Carcass yield was evaluated (Hoffman et al 2005).

Meat quality

The meat quality was evaluated by measuring the back fat thickness, pH levels after 45 minutes and 24 hours following the slaughter, as well as organoleptic testing. Back fat thickness was measured at three distinct points, including the first rib, the last rib, and the rump, referred to as the thickness of the back fat.(Hoffman et al 2005). The pH of postmortem muscle was assessed at 45 minutes (pH45 min) and 24 hours (pH24 h) after death by employing a spear-type portable pH meter (PHS-52 pH meter, Scientific Instruments Inc., Techmel USA) inserted directly into the carcasses at the 8th and 9th thoracic vertebrae (Huang et al. 2020). Meat colour was evaluated at 24 hours postmortem using a colour reader analyser (Color Reader CR-10‚MADE IN JAPAN) after a 30-minute exposure to air at 4°C. The results were reported as Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (1978) lightness (L*), redness (a*), and yellowness (b*) values (Choi and Oh 2016).

Before and after boiling, measurements of length and weight were obtained for both the control and cooked pork samples using a calibrated weighing balance and ruler. The cooking loss percentage was subsequently calculated:

Cooking Loss = (W₀- W₁)/W _{0 )*100}

Where W ₀ and W ₁ are the weights before and after the process respectively.

The pork's color was detected using a Color Reader analyzer (CR-10 model, MADE IN JAPAN). The surface color was measured at three different points on the pork. The average value was recorded. The color readings were shown as L* a* b* values, where L* signifies lightness or darkness. Reds are represented by positive a*values, and greens by negative a*values (Song et al 2022)

Sensory analysis

The eviscerated carcasses resulting from each treatment were cooked individually on gas cookers of the same type, without seasoning or salt, for a duration proportional to their "ready-to-cook" weight, based on 1 hour per 1 kg of carcass weight (Hu et al 2019). The portions were then served slightly warm and randomly labeled a, b, or c for blind tasting.

The tasting room was built in accordance with the AFNORV 09105 standard, using twelve insulated posts. We recruited a panel of twelve expert judges, six women and six men, to investigate the influence of the breed of pig on the sensory characteristics of the meat. The panelists assessed the meat's organoleptic qualities based on five criteria: color, flavor, tenderness, juiceness, and texture shown in table 1.

Statistical analysis

The experiments were performed in triplicate and the results obtained were presented as means ± standard deviations. All data collected were subjected to analysis of variance using SPSS 21.0 and SAS statistical software using the Ducan test, the means were separated by LSD (Least Significant Difference) at the 5% significance level (Clark and SAS Institute 2004).

Results

Carcass characteristics

The carcass characteristics of local BLP and exotic DLW of pigs are shown in Table 2. All carcass characteristics showed significant differences (p<0.05), except the carcass yield and intestine weight for which no significant difference was observed between the two breeds (p>0.05).

Meat quality parameter

The meat quality parameters analyzed are shown in Table 3. The average fat thickness was significantly higher (P<0.05) for DLW (2.15 ± 0.02 cm) than that of BLP (1.66 ± 0.10 cm). The pH after 45 minutes of slaughter and the one after 24 hours were significantly different (P<0.05) for both pig breeds. The color parameters of meat independently of breed were not significantly different (P>0.05). The loss due to cooking was significantly higher for BLP (26.2 ±0.02) compared to DLW (12.1 ±0.06).

Sensory analysis

Table 4 shows the results of the sensory analysis performed on the loin. It appears that the variables odor intensity, residual odor, intensity, pork taste, acid taste, atypical taste, juiciness, and chewiness of the loin from the two breeds, were not significantly different (p>0.05). However, the overall quality was significantly higher for BLP (3.9±0.14) than DLW (3.4 ±0.17).

Hams

The sensory analysis test for the ham part is presented in Table 5. It can be seen that all variables for this part do not show any significant differences (p>0.05) in the two breeds of pig except juiciness and overall quality. BLP were significantly (p<0.05) tender (3.6 ±0.12), and juicier (3.4±0.16) than those from the DLW pigs. The hams from the DLW pigs obtained the lowest score of overall quality (3.12 ±0.18).

Shoulder

The sensory parameters of the shoulder are shown in Table 6. In general, the overall quality and juiciness (3.36 ±0.24) and pork flavor (3.57±0.17) of the BLP were more appreciated by the panelist with higher significantly (P<0.05) values than those of the DLW.

Discussion

The findings indicate the carcass weight was significantly (p<0.05) higher in DLW pigs compared to BLP pigs. Possible reasons for the lowest carcass weight in BLP pigs may be attributed to their relatively low muscle growth potential, which is common in local or indigenous breeds (Jiang et al 2011).It is widely reported that indigenous pig breeds produce more oxidative and less glycolytic muscle metabolism than exotic pigs(Poklukar et al 2020) . Similar results were reported by (Renaudeau et al 2005; Kim et al 2018; Nevrkla et al 2021) with Creole, Korean native, and Prestice Black-Pied Pig respectively. The intestine length of the DLW pigs was significantly (p<0.05) high compared to those of BLP pigs, but significantly (p>0.05) similar to the intestine weight. However, different results were obtained by (Ndindana et al 2002), their study showed that the Mukota pig possessed a relatively longer intestine than the Large White, while the intestine weight was similar for both indigenous and exotic breeds. The growth and maturity of the small intestine are affected by several factors, including diet, stage of growth, and other stressors (Cheng et al 2023).

The average fat thickness was significantly greater in the crossbred DLW compared to the local BLP. These results corroborate those of Thomas et al (2015), who found that the thickness of the back fat located at three quarters of the length of the transverse section of the exposed longissimus thoracis and lumborum between the 10th and 11th ribs was in the range of 0.7 cm to 2.25 cm (Thomas et al 2015). In contrast to those of (Nevrkla et al 2021) who showed that the backfat thickness is much higher in traditional breeds than in modern ones. It is necessary to complete our study by measuring the content of lipids within the muscles and their composition in fatty acids as these criteria are highly linked to the results of the sensory analysis (Hu et al 2019).

The pH values acquired for the two breeds (BLP, DLW) at both pH 45min and pH 24h were within the normal range. Nevertheless, the DLW had the highest pH 45min and pH 24h values. Given that the pH measurements for both breeds were between 6.0 and 6.2 (Kim et al 2018).The values describing pH show that both evaluated pig populations have normal meat without defects. The meat of the BLP pigs showed normal pH ₄₅ and pH _24h values, which confirms the stability of their meat. Also, the cooking loss values were lower, which is to the statement that a lower drip loss is related to higher pH values found more stable pH _24h (5.62 vs. 5.56) and a lower drip loss in Korean Native Black pigs than in their hybrids with Duroc (Nevrkla et al 2021). The cooking loss was significantly higher (p< 0.05) for the BLP compared to the DLW pigs. Cooking loss is influenced by the muscle and fiber area of the pork. Pork with a high muscle fiber area has a high shear force, which also affects the meat quality (Jiang et al 2011). These results are similar to Angu pigs, but contrary to Celta pig and their crosses which showed no difference in cooking loss (Touma and Oyadomari 2020).

The color parameters, including brightness, redness, chroma, hue angle, and yellowness, did not show significant differences (p>0.05) between the two breeds. Therefore, the two breeds did not affect the colour of the meat after slaughter. The colour of meat is determined by the presence of hemoglobin and myoglobin. Pork has the lowest concentration of myoglobin, and is thus the lightest in color, (Purslow et al 2020). Meat color is determined by several factors, including species, genetics, age, feeding system, and animal husbandry (Kirkpatrick et al 2022). Some researchers have reported that breed has little effect on the color of meat. However, the opposite results were obtained, indicating the need for further research (Nevrkla et al 2021).

Overall meat quality, including loins, hams, and shoulders, was rated significantly higher for BLP than for DLW ( p < 0.05), according to sensory panelists. Additionally, the hams were found to be the most tender and juicy, while the shoulder had the most pronounced pork flavour. These findings diverge from those reported by Choi and Oh (2016), who found no significant variations noticed in tenderness attributes, softness, initial tenderness, chewiness, rate of breakdown, and amount of perceptible residue. Furthermore, the juiciness, intensity of flavour, and off-flavour intensity were comparable across the three hybrid pigs (Choi and Oh 2016).

Conclusion

• The results of this study showed that the BLP did not obtain better carcass value parameters than the DLW pigs. Nonetheless, the BLP pigs present some benefits in terms of meat quality parameters.
  
  
• The BLP meat was characterized by a more stable pH and lower average backfat thickness. The BLP meat showed the best sensory parameters with the highest overall quality and appreciation.

Ethics approval

Prior authorization for the use animals was obtained from the Joint Institutional Review Board for Animal and Human Bioethics (Reference No: BTC-JIRB2021-011). The animals used were done in adherence to the European Convention, attention to Part III, articles 7, 8 and 9.

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