Meat quality assessment of raw meat from two Mediterranean autochthonous pig breeds reared in sustainable conditions

The sustainability of livestock farming in relation to global anxiety about climate change and the quality of agro-ecosystem services has become a fundamental issue for the world and the scientific community. Many aspects of meat quality are related to genotype, sex, and age of the animals as well as the production system. In Mediterranean countries, farmers in marginal areas engage in environmentally friendly production systems using native genotypes that are well adapted to the environment and are able to exploit the feed resources available on the territory. The black pig breeds are autochthonous in many countries and reared in the interior of the Mediterranean region. Although in Italy, the black pig breeds have been studied and analysed for years, and have been divided in different populations, in Greece, there is a lack of information about the productive performance of black pigs. The current study, funded by the GREEN FUND GREECE no.003141, aimed to evaluate the effect of genotype on the quality parameters, the chemical composition and fatty acid profile on the Longissisum lumborum muscle in pig slaughtered at 9 and 12 months of age. For this purpose, 20 piglets were selected from 2 pig farms (1 Greek and 1 Italian) and divided into 4 experimental groups (5 animals per group): E9-Greek breed, slaughtered at the age of 9 months, E12- Greek breed, slaughtered at 12 months of age, I9 Italian breed, slaughtered at 9 months of age, and I12 Italian breed, slaughtered at 12 months of age. Pigs were slaughtered at a licensed abattoir in their country of birth and meat quality analyses were carried out at the University of Bari. The preliminary results show that the E12 meat is less dark with better values of tenderness than I12. The genotype did not influence the chemical composition of 9 months pigs, but on the other hand the I12 have lower protein content and intramuscular fat than E12. As far as the meat fatty acid composition is concerned, the results show a higher percentage of SFA but a lower of MUFA in Italian groups. The concentration of n-3 and n-6 was higher in E9 and E12 than the Italian groups. The meat health indexes were not influenced by genotype but were influenced by age of slaughter. This trial could be a first step to evaluate meat characteristics of Greek black pigs and, therefore, a tool to exploit the diversity of production systems and to raise awareness of the relevance and value of this animal genotype.