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Taste
Pork produced from pigs raised on deep
bedding proved tastier than pork from confinement animals, a study at
Texas Tech University found. They compared pork loins from a large swine
operation that raises pigs on slatted floors versus 20 pork loins in
a deep-bedding system, measuring responses from a trained sensory panel.
Results, published as an abstract in the Journal of Animal Science,
indicated that pigs housed on bedding produced pork that was juicier
and better tasting. Moreover, carcasses from the deep-bedded group had
a lower trim loss – 5.8 percent compared to 14.9 percent for the group
raised on slats.
“Historically, consumers’ desires have been fairly simple – to have
cheap but wholesome food,” said John McGlone, head of Texas Tech’s
Pork Industry Institute. “Now a large segment of consumers is demanding
new requirements from the meat they buy.”
Organic Pork
Raising pork organically – and marketing it that way – presents
another profitable niche. In 2000, USDA announced the final standards
for organically grown agricultural products, including practices
that can be used in producing and handling organic livestock.
Organic meats appear to be part of
a growing niche market. While organic food makes up a small share of
retail sales, it is growing by about 24 percent a year. The Food Marketing
Institute, an organization representing food retailers and wholesalers,
found that 37 percent of consumers look for and purchase products labeled
as organic.
All agricultural products labeled “organic”
must originate from farms or handling operations certified by a state
or private agency accredited by USDA. Farms and handling operations
that sell less than $5,000 of organic products per year are exempt from
certification. Animals for slaughter must be raised under organic management
from the last third of gestation. Producers are required to use certified
organic feed, but they may provide vitamin and mineral supplements.
Organically raised animals must not
be given hormones or antibiotics. If an animal is sick or injured, producers
must not withhold treatment, even if that means administering antibiotics
and selling the meat on the conventional market. All organically raised
animals must have access to the outdoors, and be confined only for health,
safety or stage of production reasons, or to protect soil or water quality.
For more information about organic
pork production, see “Resources”.
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