The Effect of Production Size and Pre‐Slaughter Time on the Carcass Parameters and Meat Quality of Slaughtered Finisher Pigs

Abstract The study was designed to determine the impact of production size and pre‐slaughter time on linear parameters of pig carcasses and meat quality. The 112 finisher pigs, divided into groups of: production size (large and small scale) and pre‐slaughter time (<4 h and >4 h). Production size has the largest impact on linear measurements of pig carcasses. Finishers from large scale farms were characterized by a higher thickness of the gluteal muscles ( P ≤ 0.05), lean meat content ( P ≤ 0.01) and by lower backfat thickness ( P ≤ 0.01). The highest impacts of production size and pre‐slaughter time were observed for color, marbling, drip loss, water holding capacity and L * parameter. The most desirable consumer parameters for pork were characterized by finisher groups from large scale farms slaughtered after over 4 h rest. The calculated correlations demonstrated relations between the line measurements of carcass and the meat quality parameters. Practical Applications Production size and pre‐slaughter time, and their interaction have a major influence on the raw material and meat quality for sale. Results of the investigation could have a potential for producing a raw material strictly suited to consumer market. Therefore, smaller slaughter plants can improve the final quality of the sold product by taking into account these factors, which means a detailed verification of suppliers and adjusting the time of slaughter.