Innovative Production Strategies for High-Quality, Traditional Pig Products—2nd Edition
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Pigs".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2024 | Viewed by 5748
Special Issue Editors
Interests: animal welfare; pig production; meat quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: animal welfare; pig production; meat quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
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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Keywords
- pig
- traditional products
- geographical indication
- meat quality
- fat quality
- animal welfare
- feeding
- sustainability
- pig farming
- pig breeding
Related Special Issues
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Production of Iberian pig high-quality meat through the use of lupin (/Lupinus albus/) as the local protein source*
Authors: García-Gudiño, J; Hernández-García, F.I; López-Parra, M; Barraso, C; Cruz, V; Izquierdo, M; Matías, J
Affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas de Extremadura, Spain
Abstract: Fresh meat from Iberian pigs presents different characteristics in terms of chemical composition than meat from commercial breeds of pigs. The higher intramuscular fat content and a more intense red colouring of the muscles are the most outstanding characteristics of the meat. The production of Iberian pork for fresh consumption (Primor pork), and not for cured products, aims to provide the market with pork of high sensory quality for culinary preparation. The Iberian primor pig is a pig born and reared extensively, fed on natural pasture and compound feed, and slaughtered once the growing period is over. In this type of production, the study of feeding strategies is a key issue for the reduction of the use of compound feed in the growth phase, which would result in a lower environmental impact and therefore in a more sustainable Iberian pig production system. The aim of this study was to evaluate alternatives to the use of compound feed for the growth phase of Iberian pigs, through the use of locally sourced lupin as a protein source, replacing soybeans of Brazilian origin. In this study, 50 Iberian pigs were evaluated during the growth phase. The control group was fed a commercial feed for this phase with 7% soya and the treated group was a feed containing 12% lupin. Both feeds were isoenergetic and isoproteic. During the experiment, the animals were weighed monthly and body composition ultrasound scans and blood samples were obtained. Once the growth phase was completed, the animals were slaughtered and loin samples were obtained to analyze different physicochemical parameters in meat. Both groups showed similar development during the growth phase and no biochemical alterations were observed in the blood. Fresh meat from animals fed with a local protein base (lupin) had a lower content of saturated fatty acids, being a more heart-healthy product. Under the conditions of this experiment, we can say that lupin can be a protein alternative to soya with better quality fresh meat production and lower environmental impact.