Relationship between carcass weight, skatole level and sensory assessment in fat of different boars

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the carcass weight and the level of skatole in boar back fat samples with descriptive sensory profiles (trained sensory panel) immediately after heating the fat samples. A weak correlation was found between the carcass weight and skatole level in fat. There was a significant difference between skatole levels in the fat of boars with carcass weight less than 70 kg and of those with the carcass weight equal or above 70 kg. The average concentration of skatole in the fat tissue of the carcasses weighing less than 70 kg was 0.18+/-0.09 mg/kg fat, which was below the commonly used threshold for tainted meat (0.20 mg/kg fat). In the group with carcass weight equal or higher than 70 kg the skatole concentration was 0.40+/-0.39 mg/kg fat. Our results show that a positive and statistically highly significant correlation exists between the skatole level and the sensory assessment of skatole intensity in fat.