Fat, meat quality and sensory attributes of Large White × Landrace barrows fed with crude glycerine

The use of alternative raw materials like crude glycerine in animal feed to reduce final costs could be of interest as the sector seeks to increase its competitiveness. The aims of the present work were to evaluate the effect of crude glycerine on back-fat thickness and the proximate composition of pork and to examine the effect on pork quality of using growing-finishing feeds with different percentages of crude glycerine added. For this purpose 60 crossbreed (Large White × Landrace) barrows were subdivided into three groups according to the crude glycerine concentration administered in feed: C, control diet, no crude glycerine; and G2.5 and G5 with 2.5% and 5% added crude glycerine, respectively. This study evaluated proximate composition, pH, cooking losses, texture, colour coordinates, fatty acid profile, and sensorial analysis. No differences were found in any of the three groups studied (C, G2.5, G5) for measurements performed both before (with ultrasound equipment) and after slaughter (millimetre ruler). The proximate composition and the physical-chemical parameters of longissimus dorsi were similar between groups. There were no differences detected (p>0.05) between the three groups as regards the CIELab coordinates, textural profile and sensory attributes. Therefore, 5% crude glycerine to replace corn could be used as an ingredient in pig feed without appreciably affecting the back-fat and meat quality characteristics.