Effects of dietary oil inclusion on meat quality of immunocastrated male pigs

Diets high in fat have been used in the production of pigs in the growing and finishing stages for the improvement of meat production and quality parameters. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of adding different oil sources to the diet of immunocastrated male pigs on meat quality characteristics. Ninety-six pigs were randomly allotted to one of four dietary treatments, with six replicate pens per treatment and four pigs per pen. Dietary treatments consisted of diets supplemented with 1.5% soybean oil (SO; control) or 3% oil from SO, canola oil (CO), or fish oil (FO). After 98 days on trial, 18 pigs per treatment (n = 72) were slaughtered and samples of the Longissimus dorsi muscle were taken for Warner-Bratzler shear force and color (L*, a*, and b*) measurements. Loins from pigs fed diets containing either 3% SO or CO had decreased Warner-Bratzler shear force (P = 0.04) than those from pigs fed the control diet. Dietary treatments had no effect on color components of fresh loin. These results indicate that feeding 3% SO or CO increased pork tenderness, without compromising color meat of immunocastrated male pigs.