Effect of transport, rest period and temperature on pork quality from different countries

The aim of the experiment was to assess the pig meat quality in relation to preslaughter conditions and import country. In the experiment, the meat quality of 1980 pigs was evaluated. The animals were divided into three groups according to country of import (Slovakia, Hungary and Netherlands). The following pre-slaughter indicators were evaluated: duration of transport, duration of housing, temperature during housing and transport. The meat quality was judged on the basis of the pH1 value measured 45 minutes after the slaughter in the musculus longissimus dorsi – pH1 MLD and in the musculus semimembranosus – pH1 MSM. The highest frequency of PSE (pale, soft, exudative) meat in the MLD was in the group of pigs imported from Slovakia (24.13 %). These pigs had also statistically significant (P<0.01) the lowest average pH1 MLD (6.05) in comparison with other imports. The incidence of PSE meat in the MSM was in all evaluated groups above 10 %. Group of pigs from Slovakia had the lowest value of pH1 MSM (6.23) in comparison with other groups of pigs (P<0.01). Even though the average length of housing in a slaughterhouse was from 11.26 to 15.43 hours high incidence of PSE meat was recorded. However group of pigs with the longest rest period (15.43 hours - Netherlands) had significantly higher pH1 MLD and pH1 MSM compared to other imports (P<0.01). From these results can be concluded that the incidence of PSE meat in evaluated groups is relatively high. Prolonging rest period and lower temperatures had positively influence on the incidence of PSE meat and pH value

Observations of water intake by sucking piglets during various seasons

Celem pracy były obserwacje i ocena ilościowa pobierania wody przez prosięta w okresie ssania do 28 dnia życia. Podjęto próbę porównania ilości pobieranej z poideł wody w czterech różnych okresach, zbliżonych do występowania kalendarzowych pór roku w warunkach klimatycznych Polski. Badania prowadzono w warunkach chlewni towarowej, produkującej tuczniki w cyklu zamkniętym. Obserwacjami objęto 17 miotów pozyskanych w wyniku krzyżowania loch rasy polskiej białej zwisłouchej (pbz) z czterema knurami rasy wielkiej białej polskiej (wbp). Prowadzono je w czasie pełnego roku kalendarzowego w czterech grupach, w zależności od terminu porodu i odchowu: od 1 grudnia do 28 lutego (grupa I), od 1 marca do 31 maja (grupa II), od 1 czerwca do 31 sierpnia (grupa III) i od 1 września do 30 listopada (grupa IV). Liczebność rodzonych miotów, ich masa całkowita i indywidualna masa ciała prosiąt były między grupami zbliżone. Niektóre prosięta (grupa I) rozpoczęły pobieranie wody już od pierwszego dnia życia aczkolwiek były to nieznaczne ilości. Regularne pobieranie przez wszystkie prosięta rozpoczęło się w 3 dniu życia. Największe pobranie wody odnotowano w okresie wiosenno-letnim (grupa II I III), a w przeliczeniu na przyrost 1 kg masy ciała prosiąt największe zużycie wystąpiło w grupie II (marzec-maj). Wysunięto hipotezę, że zwiększone zapotrzebowanie na wodę w miesiącach wiosenno-letnich może wynikać ze zróżnicowania warunków związanych z temperaturą zewnętrzną, długością dnia świetlnego, a przez to zróżnicowaną aktywnością życiową prosiąt. Być może, ma to także związek z objawami atawistycznymi u świń. Wymaga to jednak dalszych badań.The aim of the study was to observe and quantify the intake of water by piglets in the sucking period up to 28 days. An attempt was made to compare the quantity of taken water sinks in four different periods, similar to the occurrence of calendar seasons in Poland\u27s climatic conditions. The research was conducted in the conditions of a pig farm, producing fatteners in a closed cycle. The observations included 17 litters obtained from Polish Landrace (PL) sows mated by four Polish Large White (PLW) boars. They were conducted during the full calendar year in four groups, depending on the date of birth and rearing: from 1 December to 28 February (Group I), from 1 March to 31 May (Group II), from 1 June to 31 August (Group III) and from 1 September to 30 November (Group IV). The number piglets in litters, total weight of litter and individual weight of piglets were similar among groups. Some piglets (Group I) started taking water from the first day of life, but it was a small amount. The regular intake of all piglets started at 3 days of age. The highest water intake was recorded in spring-summer (Group II and III), and as a percentage of 1 kg body weight of piglets, the highest consumption occurred in group II (March-May). It was hypothesized that the increased water requirement in the spring and summer months may be due to the variability of the conditions related to the outdoor temperature, the length of the light day and thus the varied life activities of the piglets. Perhaps, it is also related to atavistic symptoms in pigs. However, this requires further research

Effect of transport, rest period and temperature on pork quality from different countries

The aim of the experiment was to assess the pig meat quality in relation to preslaughter conditions and import country. In the experiment, the meat quality of 1980 pigs was evaluated. The animals were divided into three groups according to country of import (Slovakia, Hungary and Netherlands). The following pre-slaughter indicators were evaluated: duration of transport, duration of housing, temperature during housing and transport. The meat quality was judged on the basis of the pH1 value measured 45 minutes after the slaughter in the musculus longissimus dorsi – pH1 MLD and in the musculus semimembranosus – pH1 MSM. The highest frequency of PSE (pale, soft, exudative) meat in the MLD was in the group of pigs imported from Slovakia (24.13 %). These pigs had also statistically significant (P<0.01) the lowest average pH1 MLD (6.05) in comparison with other imports. The incidence of PSE meat in the MSM was in all evaluated groups above 10 %. Group of pigs from Slovakia had the lowest value of pH1 MSM (6.23) in comparison with other groups of pigs (P<0.01). Even though the average length of housing in a slaughterhouse was from 11.26 to 15.43 hours high incidence of PSE meat was recorded. However group of pigs with the longest rest period (15.43 hours - Netherlands) had significantly higher pH1 MLD and pH1 MSM compared to other imports (P<0.01). From these results can be concluded that the incidence of PSE meat in evaluated groups is relatively high. Prolonging rest period and lower temperatures had positively influence on the incidence of PSE meat and pH value