Effect of probiotic supplementation on the carcass traits and sensory qualities of swill fed pork.

A study was conducted in a commercial pig farm to document the effect of probiotic supplementation on the carcass traits and sensory qualities of Large White Yorkshire pigs by selecting thirty two weaned piglets at random and divided two treatment groups comprising of sixteen in each group which was subjected to two feeding regimens viz., swill feed alone (control group) and swill feed supplemented with probiotics (treatment group). In the latter group, a commercial probiotic “Biobloom” was fed @ 5g/pig/day. The trial was conducted from 56 to 180 days of age, it was observed that there was a highly significant difference (P<0.01) in carcass weight, dressing percentage, back fat thickness and meat percentage of pigs between swill feed supplemented with probiotics and swill feed fed groups. There was no significant difference in loin eye area and carcass length between the two experimental groups. There was no significant difference in fat and bone percentage between the two experimental groups. Tenderness and juiciness score did not significantly differ among the experimental groups, but the flavour score was better in pig fed with probiotic supplementation (8.67 ± 0.21) than swill feed fed group (7.33 ± 0.21). It was concluded that the probiotic feeding could play an important role in the carcass traits and sensory quality of pork in large scale swine industry.