Assessing boar taint in Portuguese pork: A small-scale study of prevalence and classification via established detection thresholds

  • Ricardo Pereira-Pinto CISAS - Centre for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability. Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Álvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal. / Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. Avenida do Atlântico 644, 4900-348 Viana do Castelo. Portugal. / EDIUS - International PhD School of the USC, University of Santiago de Compostela, ES15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8480-9525
  • Carla Barbosa CISAS - Centre for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability. Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Álvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal. / Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. Avenida do Atlântico 644, 4900-348 Viana do Castelo. Portugal. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8042-8642
  • Fernando Mata CISAS - Centre for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability. Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Álvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5687-7114
  • Núria Reis CISAS - Centre for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability. Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Álvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal. / EDIUS - International PhD School of the USC, University of Santiago de Compostela, ES15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9433-9109
  • Diana Barros CISAS - Centre for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability. Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Álvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal. / Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. Avenida do Atlântico 644, 4900-348 Viana do Castelo. Portugal. / EDIUS - International PhD School of the USC, University of Santiago de Compostela, ES15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4557-9776
  • Manuela Vaz-Velho CISAS - Centre for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability. Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Álvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal. / Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo. Avenida do Atlântico 644, 4900-348 Viana do Castelo. Portugal. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4825-2058

Resumen

Aim of study: To assess the boar taint prevalence in the Portuguese pork industry through an observational study model by measuring skatole and androstenone levels in fat and to compare it with the estimated thresholds for these compounds among Portuguese consumers.

Area of study: Portugal.

Material and methods: Adipose tissue samples from 140 animals (102 entire males and 38 females) were collected in three Portuguese abattoirs for boar taint quantification. Cut-off limits were determined using best-estimate thresholds (BET) for skatole and androstenone.

Main results: Boar taint quantification for the 140 animals revealed levels of 36.0±4.7 ng/g of skatole and 64.5±21.3 ng/g of androstenone, and values were significantly higher in males. Group BET values were 35.4 ng/g and 566.3 ng/g for skatole and androstenone, respectively. BET values were exceeded in 28.8% of the samples for skatole and 0.7% for androstenone.

Research highlights: The investigation revealed a generally low level of boar taint in the samples of this small-scale study on skatole and androstenone prevalence in Portugal's pork supply chain. However, occasionally a significantly elevated boar taint levels suggest that relying solely on slaughtering sexually immature males might not fully resolve this issue.

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Citas

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Publicado
2024-05-28
Cómo citar
Pereira-Pinto, R., Barbosa, C., Mata, F., Reis, N., Barros, D., & Vaz-Velho, M. (2024). Assessing boar taint in Portuguese pork: A small-scale study of prevalence and classification via established detection thresholds. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 22(3), e0607. https://doi.org/10.5424/sjar/2024223-20749
Sección
Producción animal