Sensory and technological meat quality in carriers and non-carriers of the RN- allele in Hampshire crosses and in purebred Yorkshire pigs

The effect of the dominant RN- allele on technological and sensory meat quality of loin and ham from pigs, crossbred from Landrace x Yorkshire sows and one Hampshire sire heterozygous for the RN- allele was studied. The non-carriers of the RN- allele and the purebred Yorkshire pigs were similar regarding most of the technological traits. In comparison with the RN- carriers, they had higher values for pH(u), Napole yield, dry matter and protein content, but lower values for drip loss, filter paper wetness, cooking loss, internal reflectance, residual glycogen and glycolytic potential, The three groups did not differ concerning lactate content, intramuscular fat or ash content. Shear-force values did not differ between the two RN genotypes, but both genotypes had lower shear-force values than the purebred Yorkshire pigs. Non-carriers had higher processing yield for cured cooked ham than RN- carriers. The RN- allele had little effect on the sensory attributes, as assessed by a trained panel using a descriptive test, but there was a tendency to lower chewing time for meat from the crossbreds compared to the purebred Swedish Yorkshire. RN- carriers produced more acidic fresh loin than non-carriers and purebred Yorkshire pigs, and juicier cured cooked ham than non-carriers. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.