Strategic finishing feeding as a tool in the control of pork quality

A standard diet and two finishing feeding strategies known to reduce muscle glycogen stores were investigated in combination with exercise immediately prior to slaughter in pigs. The objective was to determine the influence of muscle glycogen at slaughter on temperature and pH in post-mortem muscle, the colour, drip loss and Warner–Bratzler shear force of the meat. The muscle glycogen stores were reduced by strategic finishing feeding. In general, pH 45 min was higher in muscles from strategically fed pigs compared with control pigs. Exercise also resulted in higher pH 45 min in control pigs compared to non-exercised control pigs, while the opposite was seen in muscles from strategically fed pigs. Exercise resulted in higher muscle temperatures in the carcasses irrespective of feeding strategy. pH 24 h were higher in M. biceps femoris and M. semimembranosus from exercised, strategically fed pigs compared with the corresponding controls. In contrast, irrespective of feeding strategy no difference in pH 24 h was registered in the meat of non-exercised pigs. Drip loss was lower in meat of strategically fed pigs compared with meat of control pigs. Moreover the drip loss was lowest in the meat of non-exercised pigs. The present study shows that strategic finishing feeding has high potential for the control of pork quality.