Improvement of pork characteristics under commercial conditions with small amount of straw or hay

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of small amount of straw or hay (100g/animal/day) and gender on pork characteristics, measured on slaughter line in longissimus dorsi et lumborum (LD) and semimembranosus (SM) muscles. We performed two replicates, each including 96 fattening pigs (half gilts and half barrows) reared under commercial conditions. Treatment had no effect on carcass characteristics and pH(45) in both muscles. The straw and hay treatments lowered pH(24) in LD muscle (straw: 5.71, hay: 5.74, control: 5.85), while hay treatment increased Fibre Optic Probe value (FOP24) in SM muscle compared to straw treatment (hay: 33.15, straw: 29.26). Gender had no effect on meat characteristics, but the interaction between treatment and gender revealed differences in FOP24 in SM muscle in gilts but not in barrows. Based on pH(24) in LD muscle, straw treatment lowered percentage of pigs with DFD meat (straw: 6.2%, control: 28.6%), whereas based on FOP24 in SM muscle, hay treatment lowered percentage of pigs with DFD meat (hay: 9.4%, straw: 32.8%; control: 27.0%). We conclude that a small amount of straw or hay has a beneficial effect on meat quality as it lowered the incidence of DFD meat.