Acceptability of entire male pork with various levels of androstenone and skatole by consumers according to their sensitivity to androstenone

Effect of surgical castration, immunocastration and chicory-diet on the meat quality and palatability of boars

This study evaluates 1) carcass quality, meat quality and palatability for barrows, immunocastrates and boars and 2) the effect of chicory supplemented feed during 10 days before slaughter on boar meat quality. At comparable carcass weights, estimated carcass lean meat percentage was higher in immunocastrates and boars than in barrows. Muscle thickness was higher for immunocastrates and barrows compared to boars, while fat thickness was lowest for immunocastrates and boars. Barrows, immunocastrates and boars differed in water holding capacity and boar taint. Home consumer panels were conducted to evaluate palatability. The consumers did detect differences in tenderness and juiciness, but not for boar taint. The chicory feed supplemented in boar feed decreased skatole concentration in backfat, without largely influencing meat quality or palatability. Not only boar taint, but also carcass and meat quality should be considered when evaluating alternatives for surgical castration.

A single nucleotide polymorphism in the CYP2E1 gene promoter affects skatole content in backfat of boars of two commercial Duroc-sired crossbred populations

The prevention of unpleasant boar taint is the main reason for castration of male piglets. This study aimed to investigate how the malodorous compound skatole is affected by a single nucleotide polymorphism (g.2412 C>T at -586 ATG) in the porcine cytochrome p450 II E1 (CYP2E1) gene. 119 boars of two commercial Duroc-sired crossbred populations raised at different farms were investigated. Skatole and androstenone in backfat averaged 114±125 ng/g and 1206±895 ng/g melted fat, respectively. The frequency of the genotypes CC, CT, and TT was 25, 52, and 23%, respectively. CC boars had the highest average skatole levels (175 ng/g) compared to CT (92 ng/g) and TT (93 ng/g). Applying suggested sensory threshold levels for skatole (>150 ng/g) and androstenone (>2000 ng/g), 30% of the carcasses may be unacceptably tainted while the proportion of tainted carcasses is significantly higher within genotype CC (56.7%) compared to genotypes CT (24.3%) and TT (14.8%). Effective reduction of tainted carcasses appears feasible applying marker assisted selection.

Consumer studies on sensory acceptability of boar taint: a review

Boar taint can be found in meat from boars and affects consumer acceptability of pork. The aim of this review is: (1) to describe different aspects of the existing methodologies used in consumer studies when evaluating boar taint from a sensory point of view, (2) to draw conclusions on different studies regarding the acceptability of meat from entire males, and (3) to discuss a possible harmonization of the different aspects to be considered when performing consumer studies on boar taint. This paper focuses on different aspects of studies previously carried out such as the country of assessment, the location of the test, the cooking procedure, the type of meat samples evaluated, the attributes and scales used, consumer profile, the results obtained, and the effect of androstenone sensitivity of the consumers on boar meat acceptability. A discussion on the possibility of a harmonization of the different aspects is also performed and final remarks and considerations have been drawn.

Complex mixture discrimination and the role of contaminants

Rats were trained in a 2-alternative odor choice task to discriminate between a 10-component odor mixture and the same mixture with one component removed and replaced with 1 of 3 concentrations of a different monomolecular odor (contaminant). All stimuli were presented within a training session, thus the rat essentially had to learn to discriminate the 10-component mixture from "not" the 10-component mixture. Rats performed most poorly discriminating the complete mixture from the mixture with one component removed and no contaminant added. As the concentration of the contaminant increased from 10 ppm to a concentration equal to the other components (100 ppm), discrimination improved linearly. In analyses of individual differences, rats that spent more time in the sampling port (sampling and making a decision) were more accurate than rats that spent less time. Together, these results emphasize the balance between perceptual stability and perceptual discrimination expressed by the olfactory system dealing with dynamic mixtures and the robust effects of contamination on those processes. In addition, they provide further support that modification of sampling/decision time is a strategy used by rats to deal with difficult discriminations of complex odors.