Applying multicriteria analysis for choosing the best marination for pork

Objective. This research aimed to choose a best marination solution using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Materials and methods. Pork meat samples were collected in a commercial slaughterhouse, and they were randomly distributed in four treatments with three different salt contents blend. Color, pH, retention of the solution, exudate and cooking loss, shear force and sensory attributes were assessed and evaluated. Multicriteria analysis using AHP was applied to the results in order to choose the best overall marination solution. Criteria used for selection were the physical and sensory characteristics of meat, and based on these criteria were classified solutions marination. Results. Results showed that the combination of the salts was the best alternative (Na2CO3+NaCl+Na5P3O10), followed by the solutions of (Na2CO3 + NaCl), and (Na5P3O10 + NaCl). Conclusions. All tested solutions with the salts used alone or in combination led to better physical and sensory attributes than the meat not marinated. Key words: Firmness, sodium chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate, texture (Source:CAB)

Bone Characteristics of Broilers Supplemented with Vitamin D Author(s)

ABSTRACT Vitamin D is added to broiler diets to supply its physiological requirement for bone formation. The fast growth rate of modern broilers is often associated with poor bone formation. Increasing vitamin D supplementation levels and the use of more available sources have applied to try to prevent leg problems, to increase carcass yield, and to improve the performance of broilers. The present study evaluated three vitamin D supplementation levels (1) 3,500 IU (control); (2) control + 1,954 IU of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol; and (3) control + 3,500 IU of vitamin D in broiler diets supplied up to 21 days of age. The objective was to investigate if the vitamin D levels above the recommendations could reduce leg problems in broilers. In this experiment, a total of 1,296 oneday-old male and female Cobb® 500 broilers were used. A 2 x 3 factorial arrangement was applied, consisting of two sexes and three vitamin D levels. No difference was found between the levels of vitamin D (p > 0.05), the performance of males or females, the gait score, the valgus and varus incidence, the tibial dyschondroplasia incidence, the occurance of femoral degeneration, the bone colorimetric, and the carcass yield. Parts yield differences were found (p > 0.05), except for liver and intestine yields. We concluded that the lowest tested vitamin D level (3,500 IU per kilogram of feed) added to the diet was the best choice in terms of cost/ benefit to help minimizing leg problems in broilers

Multi-Attribute Evaluation and Selection of Broiler House for the Low Prevalence of Footpad Lesion

ABSTRACT Intensive broiler production requires large flock density, which compromises litter quality and increases the prevalence of footpad lesions. The present study aimed at comparing the incidence of footpad dermatitis of broilers reared in two different rearing environments. Data from two broiler houses were recorded during 42 d. Air temperature and relative humidity; litter moisture, pH, and temperature; footpad surface temperature; and the incidence of footpad lesions was investigated. Litter quality was analyzed in a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement, with two house types (dark house or open-sided house) and four rearing phases (21, 28, 35, and 42 d of growth), with four replicates per treatment using 12 replicates. Four replicates were used for analyzing the air environment data. For the footpad lesion identification, a randomly factorial scheme of recording the surface temperature was built (2 x 2) using two houses, and the broiler sex using 15 replicates in the grow-out stages. The measures of association (odds ratio and risk ratio) were calculated. The multi-criteria analysis (Analytic Hierarchy Process - AHP) was applied for estimating the house that provided less prevalence of lesions. The field data did not provide enough evidence for selection of a particular house with less incidence of footpad dermatitis. However, when applying the measures of association data, and corresponding literature data to the AHP, there was an indication that the dark-house provided broiler rearing condition that reduced the incidence of footpad lesions