Comparison of pork quality from pure and crossbred Iberian pig

The Iberian (IB) Pig Breed is the most important Mediterranean swine type, both in population size and economic importance. Most of IB pork is consumed as cured products. However, the consumption of fresh meat has recently increased. Due to the increasing demand of fresh meat, in 2007, a new National Quality Standard (NQS) was published in Spain to regulate the production and marketing of products derived from IB pig carcass, including for first time fresh meat. This Quality Standard included two genetic product types in Iberian pork production: Iberian purebreed pork and Iberian x Duroc crossbreeding pork. In fact, Iberian x Duroc (50%) is the most common Iberian crossbreeding pig found in the meat market included in NQS. We have studied the main meat quality parameters of tenderloin (psoas major muscle) and serratus ventralis muscle, which are the most expensive meat cuts for fresh consumption, from those two genetic pig groups. Meat from IB pig showed different characteristics of that from crossbred pigs. However, more differences were observed in tenderloin than in serratus ventralis muscle. Tenderloin from crossbred pigs had lower water holding capacity, intramuscular fat and PUFA contents, and higher SFA content than tenderloin from Iberian purebred pigs. Serratus ventralis muscle from crossbred pigs had lower myoglobin content than serratus ventralis from IB purebred pigs, but no important differences were observed in other meat quality parameters.