Ruminant and industrially produced trans fatty acids: health aspects

Fatty acids of trans configuration in our food come from two different sources – industrially produced partially hydrogenated fat (IP-TFA) used in frying oils, margarines, spreads, and in bakery products, and ruminant fat in dairy and meat products (RP-TFA). The first source may contain up to 60% of the fatty acids in trans form compared to the content in ruminant fat which generally does not exceed 6%. In Western Europe, including Scandinavia, the average daily intake of IP-TFA has decreased during the recent decade due to societal pressure and a legislative ban, whereas the intake of RP-TFA has remained stable

The Niche Pork Production Handbook

Niche pork markets grew rapidly in the late 1990’s and have continued to expand. There are currently at least 35 pork niche markets active in Iowa. These range from direct sales to consumers by individual farmers to organized marketing groups. Marketers consistently report more demand for pork than the existing supply of pigs that meet the niche market criteria. They also consistently report a shortage of producers and the expectation that the niche markets will continue to grow. The lifestyle and financial opportunities offered by niche pork markets are attractive to many individuals. These individuals may have little or no experience with raising pigs. Much of the existing pig production resources are not appropriate for this audience. To address these needs, a Niche Pork Production handbook was developed in 2007. The handbook is a collection of 30 individual leaflets addressing practical issues of niche pork production. The handbook is available for download from the Iowa Pork Industry Center website: http://www.ipic.iastate.edu/publications.html. This handbook was written to serve as an introduction to pig production with a focus on the practical issues facing niche market pig producers. Although perhaps most valuable to the novice, the information in this handbook is also useful to the more experienced pig producer considering niche pork production as well as the seasoned niche pork producer

Feeding DDGS to Finishing Pigsin Deep-Bedded Hoop Barns

The ethanol industry in Iowa has rapidly expanded in the last several years. A major coproduct of ethanol production is dried distillers grains with solubles(DDGS). Higher prices for corn and ample supplies of DDGS has generated interest in feeding DDGS to finishing pigs. Challenges in feeding DDGS supplemented diets to finishing swine include problems of feed flowability in bulk bins and feeders, reduced feed intake, and softer, oilier fat in pork carcasses. Pelleted diets have improved flowability and may stimulate feed intake, but thus far no studies have examined feeding DDGS-supplemented dietsin pelletted form to pigs. The objective of this study was to evaluate pelletted DDGS-based diets fed to finishing pigs

Maximizing DDGS for Finishing Pigs in Bedded Hoop Barns

Higher prices for corn and increasing supplies of DDGS have generated questions about feeding DDGS to market swine. The objective of this study was to evaluate various programs to maximize DDGS feeding to finishing pigs in bedded hoop barns. The project was conducted during 2008 and 2009 at the ISU Western Research Farm, Castana, IA. The pens were in small hoop barns with two pens per barn. Each pen was assigned to one of three dietary treatments— continuous 20% DDGS (Cont), a step-up program from 0% to 30% DDGS (Step), and a high DDGS program that rapidly got pigs to 30% DDGS (High). All treatments were fed a 20% DDGS diet for the last phase of the trial. There were 4 dietary phases in the 98-day trial. Phase 1 and 4 were each 21d. Phase 2 and 3 were each 28d. The diets were pelletted and fed ad libitum. Within each phase, the diets were formulated to be equal in apparent digestible amino acids—lysine, threonine, and tryptophan. The pigs consumed the diets readily with no apparent problems making the transition among the diets. Feed intake (ADFI), growth (ADG), and feed per liveweight gain (F/G) did not differ among treatments (P \u3e 0.05). No major differences were noted in backfat thickness (BF) and loin muscle area (LMA) (P \u3e 0.05). Also, based on the means of fatty acid saturation, iodine values, and belly flop scores of selected pigs in trial (one, two or three), the differences in unsaturation percentages, iodine value and belly flop scores between treatments were minor. On average, a pig fed the continuous program consumed 119 lb of DDGS or 20% of the total feed over the 98-day feeding trial (from 54 to 274 lb). A pig fed the Step-up program consumed 106 lb of DDGS or 17% of the total feed. A pig fed the High program consumed 162 lb of DDGS or 26% of the total feed. This work suggests that diets and feeding programs can be designed to increase DDGS usage by market swine without negatively affecting pig performance. Also formulating diets on apparent digestible amino acid content may be advantageous when using DDGS on swine diets. The pelleted diets worked well with no problems in feed flow or fines separation

Maximizing DDGS for Finishing Pigs in Bedded Hoop Barns: Trial One

Iowa’s ethanol industry continues to expand rapidly. A major coproduct of ethanol production is dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). Higher prices for corn and increasing supplies of DDGS have generated questions about feeding DDGS to market swine. The objective of this study was to evaluate various programs to maximize DDGS feeding to finishing pigs in bedded hoop barns. The work reported is the first of several trials planned

Approaches to removing trans fats from the food supply in industrialized and developing countries

A number of approaches have been initiated by governmental and public health organizations in different countries to reduce trans-fatty acid (TFA) intakes. These have included nutrition recommendations with regard to TFAs and general nutrition recommendations regarding the selection of healthy fats, programmes to raise awareness about the adverse effects of TFAs through nutrition and health claims, voluntary or mandatory labelling of the trans content of foods, voluntary or legislated programmes to encourage or force industry to reformulate food products to remove TFAs, the promotion of health and agricultural policies that encourage the production of healthy alternatives to trans fat and finally, mandatory regulation of food standards to remove or reduce the TFA content. This paper reviews a number of initiatives to reduce the intake of TFAs underway in selected industrialized and developing countries, which serves to illustrate the merits and limitations of the available options and how the approaches that have been taken reflect local conditions.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Approaches to removing trans fats from the food supply in industrialized and developing countries

A number of approaches have been initiated by governmental and public health organizations in different countries to reduce trans-fatty acid (TFA) intakes. These have included nutrition recommendations with regard to TFAs and general nutrition recommendations regarding the selection of healthy fats, programmes to raise awareness about the adverse effects of TFAs through nutrition and health claims, voluntary or mandatory labelling of the trans content of foods, voluntary or legislated programmes to encourage or force industry to reformulate food products to remove TFAs, the promotion of health and agricultural policies that encourage the production of healthy alternatives to trans fat and finally, mandatory regulation of food standards to remove or reduce the TFA content. This paper reviews a number of initiatives to reduce the intake of TFAs underway in selected industrialized and developing countries, which serves to illustrate the merits and limitations of the available options and how the approaches that have been taken reflect local conditions.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Efficiency of Niche Pork Production in 2006

Production of niche pork has been expanding in response to increased demand. Little information is known about production efficiency of niche pork. This report provides information on production efficiency from 41 niche pork producers. The average female breeding herd size was 91 females. The average feed efficiency was 4.31 pounds of feed per pound of pork produced. The average feed efficiency for the top 15 herds was 3.74 and it was 4.25 for the bottom 15 herds. Average labor use was .87 hours per hundred pounds of pork produced. About one of every four pigs born alive died before weaning. Another eight percent died from weaning to market. Breeding herd death loss was in the 4 to 6 percent range. The information summarized here shows striking production differences in many areas between the top 15 and bottom 15 producers. The areas with the largest differences are places with the most potential to help producers improve. Educational programming that targets these areas is being developed to help these producers make changes to improve their operations, which in turn will improve the position of this sector of the industry

Returns and Costs of Niche Pork Production in 2006

Production of niche pork has been expanding in response to growing demand. Little information is known about the costs and returns from niche pork production. This report provides information on cost and returns for 41 niche pork producers. Return levels show that the average return to capital, unpaid labor and management for the top 15 producers was $17.43 per hundred pounds of pork produced, while this average was$2.17 for the bottom 15 producers and $10.08 for all 41 producers. The average margin over all costs on a per head sold basis was slightly below breakeven (-$2.36) for all 41 producers. The average return per hour of labor after all costs was $13.17 for all 41 producers, but$22.66 per hour for the top 15 producers and $3.02 for the bottom 15 producers. The average total cost per hundred pounds of pork produced for all producers was$52.05, while the top 15 third had average total costs that were $11.17 less than the bottom 15 producers ($46.05 vs. $57.22). The main contributor to cost differences between the top third and bottom third producers was operating costs, which included feed and other operating expenses but not labor. These costs represented 96 percent of the total cost difference, with 56 percent of this difference being in other operating costs and 40 percent in feed costs