Use of Mediterranean By-Products to Produce Entire Male Large White Pig: Meat and Fat Quality

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Sustainability is a current issue that is gaining an important place in consumer choices. Natural and environment-friendly products are becoming more popular and widely accepted, so changes to production methods are needed. Local by-products offer a good way to close the circle on animal production. In this study, two by-products were used: Garlicon ST(®), a supplement obtained from garlic and onion, which could improve the microbiota gut and the ingestion in pigs, and olive pulp from Mediterranean oil production, which could be a good source of nutrients for pigs. The impact of the use of both by-products on the quality of meat and fat of pigs was examined. ABSTRACT: A total of 70 male growing non-castrated pigs (Large White), with a 23.07 ± 2.87 kg average body weight (BW), were randomly allocated to three treatments in a 103 day trial: a CONTROL diet and two experimental diets, ALLIUM (5 g/kg of Allium spp. extract) and OLIVE (100 g/kg of olive pulp). Animals were slaughtered at 115 kg live body weight. Meat and fat quality were analyzed. Animals fed ALLIUM and OLIVE had higher water holding capacity (WHC) than those fed the control diet. No significant differences were observed between groups for cooking loss, drip losses and color CIELab. No antioxidant effect was observed on an oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) test. Animals fed OLIVE presented a more unsaturated fatty acid profile than CONTROL and ALLIUM. Meat from ALLIUM group and OLIVE showed her values of brightness and meat odor than CONTROL. Mean scores of sensory analyses (color, odor, flavor and juiciness) of cooked samples were similar for the three treatments, with the meat samples from the ALLIUM and OLIVE treatments being less hard. Consumers did not reflect a preference for any of the treatments. Both by-products could be used for pork production.