Water Holding Capacity, pH, and Lipid Oxidation of Pork Loins from Barrows Supplemented with Conjugated Linoleic Acid

An ongoing research project is investigating the feeding of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) to pigs and the subsequent effects of CLA on growth, performance, and pork quality characteristics. Certain measures of pork meat samples, including pH, water holding capacity and lipid oxidation are proven indicators of pork quality. The CLA was fed to market barrows at 0.75% of the diet from 40 kg to 115 kg of body weight. No treatment differences were observed for pH or water holding capacity measures over three periods (1, 14, and 28 days) of retail storage. No treatment differences were observed for lipid oxidation at 14 and 28 days of retail storage. Pork chops from CLA- treated pigs exhibited less lipid oxidation (P\u3c.05) than control chops at 1 day of retail storage. These measures of pork quality were all within acceptable levels for retail sale. Supplementation of CLA in swine finishing diets did not compromise pork quality characteristics and even decreased lipid oxidation in early stages of retail storage