Dear Colleagues, 

Pork production, in its broadest meaning, ranging from the choice of the genetic type of animals to the qualitative characteristics of the final product, will face highly demanding challenges in the very near future.

The European citizens' initiative, "End the cage age", is an unequivocal demonstration of consumers' increased sensitivity towards animal welfare issues. Significant legislative changes are expected shortly in this direction. At the same time, the European Green Deal requires a substantial review of the traditional approach to pig farming to direct it towards ever higher levels of sustainability. This evolution will not only concern Europe but will affect all nations.

The production of typical, high-quality, pork-based products (e.g., PDO and PGI products) must be able to quickly and efficiently incorporate these changes to avoid being penalized, considering the solid ethical content that consumers attribute to food products of excellence.

The meat used for producing these high-quality delicacies needs to be suitable for seasoning and dry-curing, and these characteristics are the result of complex interactions between the animal (breed, genotype, rearing condition, feeding regime, age, weight at slaughter, etc.) and the environment, without disregarding the importance of ethical attributes such as animal welfare and environmental impacts.

More specifically, this Special Issue focuses on all the innovative (or alternative) production strategies for pigs intended for high-quality, typical productions (in terms of the higher sustainability of the whole production chain, including social implications, improvements to animal welfare, innovative feeding and farming techniques, reductions in environmental impact, reductions in drugs use, the use of new additives, improvements in meat and fat quality, etc.), with special emphasis on PDOs, PGIs, and other recognized production schemes, and it is aimed at providing new insights for a wide range of stakeholders from different countries.

Prof. Dr. Giovanna Martelli
Dr. Eleonora Nannoni
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• pig
• traditional products
• geographical indication
• meat quality
• fat quality
• animal welfare
• feeding
• sustainability
• pig farming
• pig breeding

• Innovative Production Strategies for High-Quality, Traditional Pig Products – 2nd Edition in Animals (1 article)
• Innovative Production Strategies for High-Quality, Traditional Pig Products – 2nd Edition in Animals (1 article)