Sire-feed interactions for fattening performance and meat quality traits in growing-finishing pigs under a conventional and an organic feeding regimen.

In a two-factorial feeding trial 120 growing-finishing pigs from eleven sires were fed on an organic (ORG) or a conventional (CON) diet. Diet ORG contained mainly oil press cakes and legume grains as protein source containing higher protein and crude fiber content along with slight deficiencies of limiting amino acids. Pigs were allocated to treatments balanced according to litter, sex and initial weight.

Prediction of pork quality at the slaughter line using a portable Raman device.

Raman spectroscopy is providing a fingerprint of the early postmortem metabolism in meat. In this study, for the first time, Raman spectroscopy is shown to measure and predict quality traits of intact muscles at the slaughtering process. Porcine semimembranosus muscles (N=151) were measured 30-60 min post mortem at the veterinarian line of a commercial abattoir using a prototype handheld Raman device.

The effects of early post-mortem pH and ultimate pH on level and amount of destructured zones in cooked cured hams.

Effects of early (1h p.m. and 3h p.

Variability of selected trace elements of different meat cuts determined by ICP-MS and DRC-ICPMS.

The aim of this study was to determine the levels of cadmium, lead, iron, zinc, selenium, manganese, copper and molybdenum in different cuts of beef, pork, lamb, chicken and foal collected from supermarkets and butcheries in Switzerland. The concentrations of manganese, copper, molybdenum, zinc, iron, selenium, cadmium and lead were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after microwave digestion. Mean values and their respective coefficients of variation were calculated from the measured concentrations.

The influence of cooking and fat trimming on the actual nutrient intake from meat.

The effects of cooking and trimming of visible fatty tissue on the content of fat, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins was studied in six meat cuts (beef rib-eye and brisket, pork neck steak and belly, veal chop and rolled breast) in order to improve the estimates of the actual nutrient intake from meat. Cooking decreased the absolute fat content by about 17.9-44.

Evidence for the inhibition of the terminal step of ruminal alpha-linolenic acid biohydrogenation by condensed tannins.

Effects of condensed tannins (CT), either via extract or plant-bound, and saponin extract on ruminal biohydrogenation of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) were investigated in vitro. Grass-clover hay served as basal diet (control). The control hay was supplemented with extracts contributing either CT from Acacia mearnsii [7.

The content and composition of lipids in the digital cushion of the bovine claw with respect to age and location--a preliminary report.

The pads of the bovine digital cushion, which serves as a shock absorber, have specific anatomical structures to cope with the substantial forces acting within the claw. To gain more information on the lipid composition and content of the pads, horn shoes from 12 slaughtered heifers and cows were removed and different samples of the pads excised with a scalpel. Pad lipids were extracted and the fatty acid composition determined by gas chromatography.

Quality of retail beef from two grass-based production systems in comparison with conventional beef.

Seventy beef strip loins (Longissimus dorsi) were sampled, originating from labels prescribing pasturing (PS, suckler beef; PF, finished steers or heifers), from conventional production (CH, heifers; CB, young bulls), and from a label producing intensively fattened young bulls (LB) and prescribing specific husbandry conditions but not grazing. Samples were purchased in autumn and spring (1:1) from 33 retail stores in northeastern Switzerland. Colour was lightest in LB beef, while PS displayed the least intensive red.

CPT1alpha over-expression increases long-chain fatty acid oxidation and reduces cell viability with incremental palmitic acid concentration in 293T cells.

To test the cellular response to an increased fatty acid oxidation, we generated a vector for an inducible expression of the rate-limiting enzyme carnitine palmitoyl-transferase 1alpha (CPT1alpha). Human embryonic 293T kidney cells were transiently transfected and expression of the CPT1alpha transgene in the tet-on vector was activated with doxycycline. Fatty acid oxidation was measured by determining the conversion of supplemented, synthetic cis-10-heptadecenoic acid (C17:1n-7) to C15:ln-7.

[Alpine cheese--healthy for your heart or just a lifestyle product?].

Until the 19th and the early 20th century, milk and milk products, particularly of alpine origins, seemed of special nutritional and health value and were highly recommended for the therapy resp. the therapeutic adjunct of various diseases, particularly for pulmonary tuberculosis. More recently, the association of saturated fat intake and arteriosclerosis led to the reduced use of milk and cheese resp.

A study on the causes for the elevated n-3 fatty acids in cows' milk of alpine origin.

The influence of grass-only diets either from rye-grass-dominated lowland pastures (400 m above sea level) or botanically diverse alpine pastures (2000 m) on the FA profile of milk was investigated using three groups of six Brown Swiss cows each. Two groups were fed grass-only on pasture (P) or freshly harvested in barn (B), both for two experimental periods in the lowlands and, consecutively, two periods on the alp. Group C served as the control, receiving a silage-concentrate diet and permanently staying in the lowlands.

Protein composition, plasmin activity and cheesemaking properties of cows' milk produced at two altitudes from hay of lowland and high-alpine origins.

The influence of high altitude, alpine origin of the forage and roughage-only diets on milk protein content and composition, plasmin activity and cheesemaking properties was investigated. There were four treatment groups, each consisting of six dairy cows in early to mid-lactation. Two groups were fed only with hay ad libitum either at 2000 m or at 400 m a.

High omega-3 fatty acid content in alpine cheese: the basis for an alpine paradox.

Background: Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) may protect from cardiovascular disease. Because fresh alpine grass contains high amounts of ALA, we hypothesized that the levels of omega-3 fatty acids would concentrate to nutritional relevance in the cheese of milk from cows with alpine grass feeding compared with cheese from silage and concentrate feeding; the newly available cheese produced from cows fed with linseed supplementation should contain even higher ALA concentrations.

Methods And Results: Forty different cheeses were analyzed by gas chromatography for their fatty acid profile: (1) 12 from well-defined alpine regions around Gstaad, Switzerland; (2) 7 commercially available English cheddar cheeses; (3) 6 cheeses from cows fed with linseed supplementation; (4) 7 industrial-type Emmentals; and (5) 8 alpine cheeses with partial silage feeding.

Meat quality of Angus, Simmental, Charolais and Limousin steers compared at the same intramuscular fat content.

Meat quality and marbling properties of Angus, Simmental, Charolais and Limousin steers (4×16) were compared at an average intramuscular fat content (IMF) of 3.25% in the M. longissimus dorsi.

Effects of feeding pigs increasing levels of C 18:1 trans fatty acids on fatty acid composition of backfat and intramuscular fat as well as backfat firmness.

Forty Large White pigs were fed from 30 kg to 103 kg body mass on diets supplemented with 6% of pure high-oleic sunflower oil (HO) or HO plus increasing amounts of partially hydrogenated rape seed oil (HR; 1.85%, 3.70%, 5.

Effect of dietary mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids on the fatty acid composition of pigs' adipose tissues.

In two experiments with growing-finishing pigs six different dietary fats were added to a conventional diet (control--C) to study the effects of dietary monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on the fatty acid composition of backfat and kidney fat at similar amounts of double bonds in feed (Exp. 1:7% pork fat--PF, 4.95% olive oil--OO, 3.

Fatty acid composition, cooking loss and texture of beef patties from meat of bulls fed different fats.

The effect of fatty acid composition on the properties of patties standardised to contain 15% fat was studied. Patties were made of beef from 36 Brown Swiss bulls fed on six different diets with five of them containing additional fats to achieve a high variability in body lipid composition. When the feed contained fullfat oilseeds (rapeseed, sunflower seed, linseed), the proportions of some nutritionally favourable fatty acids were increased in the patties.

Comparative evaluation of rumen-protected fat, coconut oil and various oilseeds supplemented to fattening bulls. 2. Effects on composition and oxidative stability of adipose tissues.

The effects of five different dietary fat supplements on fatty acid composition and oxidative stability of subcutaneous and kidney fat were evaluated in 36 Brown Swiss bulls and compared to a low fat diet in a monofactorial design. The following fat supplements were provided as additional fat at 30 g per kg feed dry matter: crystalline rumen-protected fat, coconut oil, and three types of crushed whole oilseeds (rapeseed, sunflower seed and linseed). Adipose tissues reflected differences (P < 0.

Comparative evaluation of rumen-protected fat, coconut oil and various oilseeds supplemented to fattening bulls. 1. Effects on growth, carcass and meat quality.

Growth performance, carcass and meat quality were determined in 36 fattening Brown Swiss bulls fed with maize silage-hay-concentrate based rations supplemented with fats and various oilseeds. The concentrate diet in the control group contained only barley and soybean meal, while the treated groups included, as partial replacement of the concentrate, rumen-protected crystalline fat, coconut oil, whole crushed rapeseed, sunflower seed or linseed, providing additional 3% fat of total ration dry matter. Animals were housed in groups of six with one representative of each treatment in a monofactorial design and feed was offered using transponder controlled equipment.