Combined effects of weather conditions, transportation time and loading density on carcass damages and meat quality of market-weight pigs

<p>This study investigated the interactive effects of weather conditions, transportation time and loading density on carcass damages and meat quality traits of market-weight pigs under commercial conditions. The following pork quality parameters were measured: pH and temperature; colour; drip, thawing and cooking loss; and textural traits. Pigs were assigned to one of eight groups arranged in a 2 <span class="inline-formula">×</span> 2 <span class="inline-formula">×</span> 2 factorial design according to the weather conditions (hot and cold), transportation time (short and long) and loading density (high and low). A three-way ANOVA and Tukey's post-test (multiple comparisons) were performed to assess the differences between groups in examined pork quality traits. Pigs exposed to short transportation (<span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 20 <span class="inline-formula">min</span>) at high loading density (0.29 <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow class="unit"><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mn mathvariant="normal">2</mn></msup><mo>/</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">100</mn><mspace linebreak="nobreak" width="0.125em"/><mi mathvariant="normal">kg</mi></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="53pt" height="15pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="659273f6c967f8ec2d2894a6f36578d4"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="aab-64-425-2021-ie00001.svg" width="53pt" height="15pt" src="aab-64-425-2021-ie00001.png"/></svg:svg></span></span>) during hot weather conditions produced meat with the lowest initial and ultimate meat pH value and sensory colour scores, and the highest initial temperature and the occurrence of pale, soft and exudative pork. The occurrence of pale, soft and exudative pork was reduced 5-fold during hot weather conditions when pigs were exposed to longer transportation (<span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 210 <span class="inline-formula">min</span>) and low loading density (0.53 <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M8" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow class="unit"><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mn mathvariant="normal">2</mn></msup><mo>/</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">100</mn><mspace width="0.125em" linebreak="nobreak"/><mi mathvariant="normal">kg</mi></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="53pt" height="15pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="11a63e91496b7b27afc2181f58cda9ca"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="aab-64-425-2021-ie00002.svg" width="53pt" height="15pt" src="aab-64-425-2021-ie00002.png"/></svg:svg></span></span>). Pigs exposed to short transportation (<span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 20 <span class="inline-formula">min</span>) at high loading density (0.41 <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M11" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow class="unit"><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mn mathvariant="normal">2</mn></msup><mo>/</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">100</mn><mspace width="0.125em" linebreak="nobreak"/><mi mathvariant="normal">kg</mi></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="53pt" height="15pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="174684e17d297d0b3385a65e4b39b3b5"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="aab-64-425-2021-ie00003.svg" width="53pt" height="15pt" src="aab-64-425-2021-ie00003.png"/></svg:svg></span></span>) during cold weather conditions produced the highest quality pork (the highest percentage of red, firm and non-exudative pork) characterised by lowest drip loss and <span class="inline-formula"><i>b</i>^∗</span> value and the highest sensory colour scores. The highest percentages of carcass damages were recorded in pigs exposed to both low (0.50 <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M13" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow class="unit"><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mn mathvariant="normal">2</mn></msup><mo>/</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">100</mn><mspace width="0.125em" linebreak="nobreak"/><mi mathvariant="normal">kg</mi></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="53pt" height="15pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="204857a60ed9c2ad4977e99a1bf26400"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="aab-64-425-2021-ie00004.svg" width="53pt" height="15pt" src="aab-64-425-2021-ie00004.png"/></svg:svg></span></span>) and high (0.33 <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M14" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow class="unit"><msup><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi><mn mathvariant="normal">2</mn></msup><mo>/</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">100</mn><mspace linebreak="nobreak" width="0.125em"/><mi mathvariant="normal">kg</mi></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="53pt" height="15pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="307973714e70ddce7cba649f80ac9c68"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="aab-64-425-2021-ie00005.svg" width="53pt" height="15pt" src="aab-64-425-2021-ie00005.png"/></svg:svg></span></span>) loading density during long transportation (<span class="inline-formula">∼</span> 210 <span class="inline-formula">min</span>) in cold weather conditions. In conclusion, weather conditions and loading density are of greater importance for the occurrence of carcass damages and pork quality variation than transportation time.</p>