Effect of dietary chicory on boar taint

Abstract Following preliminary screening and feeding trials on farms supplying a commercial abattoir, 360 entire male pigs were used to evaluate the effects of different percentages of chicory ( Cichorium intybus L.) on levels of boar taint compounds and sensory aspects in backfat. Pigs were fed 0, 3, 6 or 9% chicory in the diet, 30 pigs being sampled at 3 different times: initially to measure basal levels of skatole and androstenone and after 1 and 2 weeks on the test diets. Cooked samples of backfat were presented to a trained sensory panel for “sniff” tests. Chicory fed at 9% for 2 weeks reduced skatole levels significantly (P