- Contributed
Leg Shank half roast showing low Backfat thickness and high meat quality.
Claude Wilson, Freelance Writer
Western Bureau:
FRESH PORK has slimmed down over the past few years and of such it is long being advertised as "the other white meat." Pork has got lean through improved breeding and feeding practices, supplemented by better trimming of fat during processing and at the retail outlet.
Genetic progress in reducing Backfat thickness in Canadian pig breeds shows significant decrease over the last two decades. In 1980 the average Backfat measured 17 millimetres thick, which was reduced to 11.6 in 2000.
According to Canadian Nutrient File and University of Moncton, pork loin centre cut, the source of many chops and roasts, is 42 per cent leaner than in 1987 containing less than 10 per cent fat.
The amount of fat in a slaughtered pig bears direct relation to the quality of the meat, the higher the Backfat and general fat on the carcass, the lower the perception of the meat quality. According to some text on the subject, cutting fat, Backfat and other fat trimmings, is generally 20 per cent of the total chill carcass weight.
There is much to be done to get the Jamaican breeds near the Backfat measurement now attained in the Canadian industry. A major start will be the proposed importation of breeder pigs from Canada as the local industry move to improve the genetic base of the pig population. Whereas Backfat measurement is genetic, proper feeding practice can increase the quality of our pork. A three-feed system that incorporates the feeding of the lower energy finisher ration will reduce body fat by allowing the animal to convert fat built up during the early growth.
A decrease in Backfat thickness results in economic benefits to farmers in two ways: It takes more feed energy to produce fat than it does to produce lean and pigs with less fat have a higher percentage of lean yield, and therefore a higher economic value to the processors or fresh pork consumers.
