Background and Methodology
Outdoor production on pasture is considered an option in organic pig production. Oksbjerg et al (2005) studied the influence of feeding strategies on pork quality. The study involved 245 pigs, five feeding treatments in five replications.
1) Pigs fed ad libitum and reared indoors with access to an outdoor concrete area.
2) Pigs fed restrictively on pasture until 40 kg body weight and then kept indoors with access to an outdoor concrete area and fed ad libitum until slaughter.
3) Pigs fed restrictively on pasture until 80 kg body weight and then kept indoors with access to an outdoor concrete area and fed ad libitum until slaughter.
4) Pigs reared on pasture and fed restrictively during the whole period of growth.
5) Pigs reared on pasture and fed ad libitum during the whole period of growth.
All pigs had free access to roughage. Meat quality assessments were performed on longissimus dorsi (LD) samples from a sub sample of 100 pigs.
Findings
Compared to pork from either ad libitum treatments (treatments 1 and 5), pork from treatments 3 and 4 were less red due to a lower pigmentation and had higher ratio of poly unsaturated: saturated fatty acids. Treatments did not affect the concentration of α-tocopherol (vitamin E) of meat. Ad libitum feeding in the organic production system gave superior meat quality compared to a restrictive feeding strategy.
Reference:
Oksbjerg, N., Strudsholm, K., Lindahl, G. & Hermansen, J. E. (2005). Meat quality of fully or partially outdoor reared pigs in organic production. Acta Agriculturae Scand Section A, 55:106-112.