On-farm validation of a feeding strategy improving nutritional and technological quality of meat from Duroc crossbred pigs and contributing to relocating feed resources

There is an increasing demand from consumers and pork chain actors for farming practices improving simultaneously the intrinsic (e.g. sensory, nutritional, etc.) and the extrinsic (i.e. production−related: type and origin of feed resources, environmental impacts, etc.) quality attributes of pork. In this context, the present study was undertaken in a commercial farm to validate a feeding strategy designed to jointly improve intrinsic and extrinsic quality attributes of pork. The experiment included a total of 102 growing pigs (Danbred dams × Duroc sires) with females (n = 52) and castrated males (n = 50) over three replicates. At an average body weight (BW) of 32 kg, pigs were assigned to either a control ( C ) or an experimental diet based on “relocation of feed resources” ( R ). They were fed ad libitum one of the two diets according to a three-phase feeding programme until slaughter, when pigs achieved around 125 kg BW. The C diet was based on oilseed meals as a source of proteins and the R diet included extruded faba bean as the main source of proteins and extruded linseed as a source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ( FAs ). The average growth rate and slaughter BW tended to be higher ( P < 0.1) in R than in C pigs, but hot carcass weight and lean meat content did not differ between the two feeding regimens. Ultimate pH in the Longissimus ( LM ) and ham ( Semimembranosus , Adductor , Gluteus medius ( GM ) and Gluteus superficialis ) muscles was higher ( P < 0.01) in R than in C pigs. Drip loss in LM was lower ( P < 0.001) in R than in C pigs. With respect to meat colour, L * , b*, C* and h° values measured 24 h after slaughter were lower ( P < 0.01) in the LM and GM, indicating less light and redder meat (due to lower h°) from R compared with C pigs. Compared with the C diet, the R diet did not affect LM protein and lipid content but markedly reduced ( P < 0.001) the n-6:n-3 and saturated:n-3 FA ratios in both LM and backfat. The current study confirms that in commercial conditions, feeding crossbred pigs with a faba bean-based diet enriched with extruded linseed is a favourable strategy to jointly improve the technological and nutritional properties of pork, while contributing to the relocation of feed resources.