Carcass traits of Hairless Mexican pigs from Mizantla, in the state of Veracruz in Mexico

Abstract

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DESCRIBE CARCASS CHARACTERISTICS OF HAIRLESS MEXICAN PIG (HMP) FROM MIZANTLA, IN THE STATE OF VERACRUZ IN MEXICO. THE EXPERIMENT USED 21 HMP SLAUGHTERED AT 115.3 ± 34.2 KG AVERAGE LIVE WEIGHT. CARCASSES WERE MEASURED, AND THEN SPLIT OF INTO PRIMAL CUTS PRIOR TO DISSECTION. PIGS HAD AN AVERAGE THORACIC PERIMETER OF 119.6 ± 15.9 CM, AN ABDOMINAL PERIMETER OF 127.2 ± 18.6 CM, AND A LENGTH ALONG THE BACK OF 106.0 ± 15.5 CM. PERIMETERS OF THE FOREFOOT AND HINDFOOT WERE 17.3 ± 1.2 AND 17.4 ± 1.4 CM, RESPECTIVELY. CARCASSES HAD AN AVERAGE LENGTH OF 81.7 ± 6.7 CM, AND A BACKFAT THICKNESS (CM) OF 5.2 ± 1.3, 3.1 ± 1.3 AND 3.8 ± 1.3 AT THE FIRST RIB, LAST RIB AND LAST LUMBAR VERTEBRA, RESPECTIVELY. RELATIVE TO THE CUTS COMPOSITION, THE HAMS HAD THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF MUSCLE (50.4 ± 2.6) FOLLOWED BY THE SHOULDER (47.5 ± 6.2), THE RIBS (43.9 ± 4.9), AND THE LOIN (38.2 ± 6.1). REGARDING TOTAL FAT PERCENT, THE BELLY (67.8 ± 5.8) AND THE LOIN (40.7 ± 9.3) HAD THE HIGHEST VALUES. INTER-MUSCULAR FAT IN THE LEAN CUTS (HAM, LOIN AND SHOULDER) RANGED FROM 8.6 TO 9.4%. MOREOVER, A POSITIVE INTERRELATION WAS FOUND BETWEEN THE FAT CONTENT IN THE LOIN, AND THE BACKFAT THICKNESS IN THE LAST RIB (P < 0.05), AS WELL AS BETWEEN THE INTER-MUSCULAR FAT CONTENT IN THE LOIN, AND THE BACKFAT THICKNESS IN THE LAST RIB (P < 0.001). IT IS SUGGESTED THAT HAIRLESS MEXICAN PIGS FROM MIZANTLA ARE LONG, WIDE ANIMALS, WITH A RATHER FATTY CARCASS.