Explore all the information on
Swine industry
The swine industries of the world are very dynamic and continue to evolve and change along with the external forces that shape agriculture world-wide. The factors influencing change are generally related to economic efficiency and competition from alternative protein sources. The global trend is for fewer producers, responsible for larger numbers of pigs, and more concentration within the swine industry. The ability to maintain economic viability is a function of providing optimal facilities, genetics, nutrition, and health programs to the pig in a system that addresses cost of production and generating revenue from the marketing of a high-quality product.
Swine production in the 21st century has become quite sophisticated. Many pork producers have transitioned away from raising purebred pigs for food and instead are raising crossbred pigs carefully selected for a specific need. These systems involve purposeful selection of the grandparent animals that usually selected with a maternal or terminal emphasis in composite breeding programs that emphasize the benefits of breed complimenting. The resulting offspring are called parent stock which are then bred to produce crossbred terminal animals.
Color characteristics were evaluated on 48 pork backbones. After 6 d postmortem, six 1- inch-thick sections of lumbar vertebrae were cut from each backbone. Lumbar vertebrae were treated with different concentrations of ascorbic acid, with combination treatments of ascorbic acid and natural antioxidants, or left untreated. Bones were packaged in one of three systems: high-oxygen modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP), ultra-low-oxygen MAP, or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) overwrap trays. Bones were...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
One of the most interesting polyunsaturated fatty acids to gain attention in recent years is conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA was first recognized as an anticarcinogen after being isolated from extracts of grilled ground beef which exhibited anticarcinogenic activity against chemically induced mouse skin cancer (Ha et al., 1987). CLA occurs naturally and is reported to have significant biological effects. In a pig feeding trial, Eggert et al. (2001) showed that gilts fed a free fatty acid...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
When margins are tight, getting the most dollars for every pig marketed is critical. Certain health problems can lead to extra carcass trims and condemnations, reducing any profits made. Many health problems that create carcass losses can be prevented or minimized. Knowing what conditions are causing the losses and what is an acceptable rate for these conditions are important first steps towards reducing carcass losses. Carcass...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
While consumers are increasing demand for pork produced without antibiotics, more of the pigs raised in such conditions carry bacteria and parasites associated with food-borne illnesses, according to a new study. A comparison of swine raised in antibiotic-free and conventional pork production settings revealed that pigs raised outdoors without antibiotics had higher rates of three food-borne pathogens than did pigs on conventional farms, which remain indoors and receive preventive doses...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Enhancing Swine Reproduction by Improving Health and Reducing Oxidative Stress
Suggested link
A tool to measure the microbiological quality of raw meat can dramatically reduce analysis time, claims its manufacturer. Michael Wasmann, general manager for Aes Chemunex, Germany told that the Bacti Flow Automatic Labelling System (ALS) enables real-time Total Viable Count (TVC) analysis of meat in-house, thus eliminating the need for processors to send samples to an external laboratory. "The equipment is comparable to the cost of external shipment analysis. However, the...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
The pork industry is interested in using natural antimicrobials as alternatives to antibiotics. However, for this to be accomplished more of these compounds need to be identified and tested. Discovery of these antimicrobials involves extensive investigations of the relationships between the food matrix and the foodborne pathogens affiliated with it. One research area is the identification of natural antimicrobial compounds that arise from the feed or food source during processing. Other...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Independent Study Shows That Stabilized Rice Bran Added to Chicken Nuggets and Hot Dogs Provides Cost Savings, Better Yield and an Improved Nutritional Profile. NutraCea, a world leader in stabilized rice bran (SRB), nutrient research and technology, announced today that the Company has received approval from the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), a subsidiary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to provide its SRB as an "enhancer” to food companies...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Australian Pork Limited has recently released a brochure to assist consumers in understanding product labelling requirements and purchase Australian pork. The brochure titled “A guide to purchasing Australian pork products - Know the talk and make sure it is Aussie pork” has been distributed to a wide variety of pig industry representatives as well as butchers across Australia – to assist in spreading the word. APL Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Spencer, said this...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Fast identification of animal meat for human consumption is especially interesting as it is a guarantee of quality for consumers and producers. Consumption of Iberian pig meat is traditional in Spain as an exponent of good taste and maximum gastronomic quality. In the last years, a booming economic sector is growing around such animal species, already exceeding the Spanish borders: Iberian ham, dried meat, cold meats and cold cuts are already been exported all over the world. Up to now,...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Roots from the chicory plant reduce boar taint and can make castration of male pigs redundant. Male pigs that are not castrated can develop boar taint at traditional slaughter weight. The smell, which is pretty unappetising, can be found in the end product. In order to spare the consumer the malodorous experience, farmers routinely castrate male piglets since castrates normally do not develop boar odour. Since castration is an uncomfortable operation for the pig,...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
If male pigs are slaughtered early they can avoid castration. Farmers are not keen on castrating piglets but the task has been necessary. Anyone who has tried to prepare or eat boar meat can recall the unpleasant smell of boar taint. The odour is due to skatole, which is a compound found in adult boars. But what if we eat the pigs before they are sexually mature? In a study at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the...
Comments : 2
Recommendations: 0
The slaughterhouse’s holding pen – known also as lairage – is the end of the line for hogs on their way through the food chain. It can also be the beginning of the line for the spread of pathogenic Salmonella if processors don’t take note of whether incoming hogs are bringing the bacteria with them or developing it at the lairage. The key is finding out early enough in the process at the lairage. That has led Food Safety Consortium researchers at Iowa State University to look for a way...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Enhancing Swine Reproduction by Improving Health and Reducing Oxidative Stress
Suggested link
Salmonella, a very important bacterium to study, causes Salmonellosis in animals and poultry, and is one of the main foodborne pathogens associated with meat and meat products. Each year in the U.S., there are approximately 1.4 million cases of human Salmonellosis and 600 reported deaths due to Salmonella-related food poisoning. In swine, clinical Salmonellosis is a common condition, causing great economic loss in the pork industry. An American study showed that two thirds of swine...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
A joint research project on Hypor's Pork Quality Concept with the University of Barcelona has developed a new DNA test that can confirm the breed and origin of meat from farm animals. This breakthrough in swine research allows for traceability of meat and linking this, at the same time, to differences in meat and carcass quality. This system could be an additional tool to normal pedigreeing and could substitute or be used to validate traditional traceability systems like pedigreeing....
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Producing specialty meats, usually without antibiotics, presents special opportunities and challenges. Successful alternative swine systems call for creative management and sound veterinary science. With alternative systems, inputs used are different and pigs are integrated with the overall farm. There is likely to be tighter integration, with crops providing bedding and in turn relying on swine manure that’s returned to the field. Swine pasture may rotate with other...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Australian pork producers are in shock after the Productivity Commission (PC) released their findings yesterday into the Safeguards Inquiry into the Import of Pigmeat. The PC was asked, before the 2007 Federal election, if temporary "safeguard" tariff restraints should be imposed on imports of pork. Despite record levels of imports and the lowest pig prices in five years, the PC has found “There is not clear evidence that increased imports have caused or are...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Commercial hybrid pigs as found on farms throughout the world today have a much improved potential for growth and a much better ability to convert feed to liveweight gain than their counterparts in the late 1950s. Continuous genetic selection since the early 1960s has been aimed primarily at reducing body fat content to provide the consumer with leaner pig meat in line with changing eating patterns, and more recently in improving the litter size at farrowing. Given this change in the...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
FMC FoodTech claims its DSI 612 Pork Belly Processing System combines software, a machine vision system and high-pressure waterjets to consistently and accurately trim and sort pork bellies. The system works with two-axis cutters, allow control of cutter speed, providing the high-quality cuts while maximising yield, stated Jon Hocker, FMC FoodTech's business development manager. The trimmer can be used in integrated pork facilities with in-house bacon production. The DSI...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Prairie Orchard Farms, Manitoba, was awarded the 2007 Canadian Agri-Food Award of Excellence for Innovation for the development of its Omega-3 Enhanced Pork. The award recognizes outstanding achievement and leadership in the Canadian agriculture and agri-food industry. Developed by Willy Hoffman, president of Prairie Orchard Farms, and a team of researchers, the Omega-3 Enhanced Pork starts with a feed formula that allows omega-3 to be absorbed into the muscle tissue through a...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0
Introduction of conformation index makes breeding more accurate An important trait for breeding animals is physical soundness. Animals need to be structurally sound to carry out their normal functions and to maximize their longevity and productive performance. Animals that cannot maintain minimum levels of physical soundness will be culled in the selection (as breeding candidates) process or will be culled relatively early from the breeding herd resulting in an adverse effect on...
Comments : 0
Recommendations: 0