Carcass quality of organic pork

Summary

According to the Council Regulation (EC) No 1804/1999), organic livestock production is intended to ensure quality production rather than maximising production. In organic pig production, the availability of limited amino acids is the first limiting factor and the main reason why the performance capacity is clearly diminished compared to conventional production. In order to compensate for the lower productivity, quality production is a conditio sine qua none. Possibilities to improve the quality of organic pork were investigated in different feeding trials. Results from a first trial in 1999 showed that diets based on organic cereals and home grown grain legumes (faba beans, peas and lupines) have the potential to produce pork with a high intramuscular fat content (IMF) being a relevant but not the only factor effecting the sensorial quality of pork (Sundrum et al., 2000a). This result was confirmed in a second trial. Additionally, pork with a high IMF content (> 2,9%) was preferred by an expert panel compared to pork with a low IMF (Fischer, 2000). In a further trial using a dose-effect design with synthetic amino acids, the working hypothesis was supported that an unbalanced relation between essential and non limited amino acids could provoke the de-novo-synthesis of fatty acids in the muscle cell (not yet published). Summing up, there is reason for the assumption that specific diets have the potential to increase the IMF content of pork without increasing the back-fat content of carcass. However, the carcass quality has it’s price. Negative correlations between IMF content and muscle area as well as live-weight gain emphasize the existence of an antagonistic relationship between quantity and quality issues. The previous results do not necessarily lead to a simple device how to increase carcass quality (Sundrum et al., 2000b). Besides the IMF content there are various other aspects that have to be taken into account. The production of pork of high quality means a challenge that naturally can not be coped by all farmers. The production of high quality goes along with an increase in the production costs that have to be compensated for by premium prices. The willingness of consumers to pay premium prices for organic products is an excellent precondition to develop a premium line of production in combination with high process qualities concerning animal welfare and environmentally friendly production. The most important precondition is to remunerate the specific performance of the farmer and to guarantee the high quality standards offered to the consumer.
(SUNDRUM, A., (2002): Carcass quality of organic pork. AFSSA – Journée d'Echanges sur l'Agriculture Biologique, 18 octobre 2002, p. 50-52)