Assessing boar taint in Portuguese pork: A small-scale study of prevalence and classification via established detection thresholds

Autor: Ricardo Pereira-Pinto, Carla Barbosa, Fernando Mata, Núria Reis, Diana Barros, Manuela Vaz-Velho
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol 22, Iss 3 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 4223-2074
1695-971X
2171-9292
DOI: 10.5424/sjar/2024223-20749
Popis: Aim of study: To assess the boar taint prevalence in the Portuguese pork industry through an observational study model by measuring skatole and androstenone levels in fat and to compare it with the estimated thresholds for these compounds among Portuguese consumers. Area of study: Portugal. Material and methods: Adipose tissue samples from 140 animals (102 entire males and 38 females) were collected in three Portuguese abattoirs for boar taint quantification. Cut-off limits were determined using best-estimate thresholds (BET) for skatole and androstenone. Main results: Boar taint quantification for the 140 animals revealed levels of 36.0±4.7 ng/g of skatole and 64.5±21.3 ng/g of androstenone, and values were significantly higher in males. Group BET values were 35.4 ng/g and 566.3 ng/g for skatole and androstenone, respectively. BET values were exceeded in 28.8% of the samples for skatole and 0.7% for androstenone. Research highlights: The investigation revealed a generally low level of boar taint in the samples of this small-scale study on skatole and androstenone prevalence in Portugal's pork supply chain. However, occasionally a significantly elevated boar taint levels suggest that relying solely on slaughtering sexually immature males might not fully resolve this issue.
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