HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Fortin, A. Articles by Elliot, J. I. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Fortin, A. Articles by Elliot, J. I.

Relationships between Backfat Thickness and Chemical Composition of the Body and Components of Swine¹

Animal Research Centre, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A OC6

Abstract

The relationships between backfat thickness and the chemical composition of the total body, whole carcass, noncarcass (offal and viscera), head, perinephric-retroperitoneal and subcutaneous fat depots, and meat (externally defatted and boned ham, loin, picnic and butt) were computed from 48 Yorkshire boars slaughtered at an average live weight of 91 kg. These relationships were then used to estimate how a reduction in backfat thickness would be expected to influence the distribution and partition of protein and fat in the total body and its components. A reduction in backfat thickness was accompanied by a decrease in the fat content of the subcutaneous fat depot and to a lesser extent of the perinephric-retroperitoneal fat depot (126.2 and 20.4 g/mm of backfat, respectively), but did not change the quantity of fat in the interand intramuscular fat depots (estimated from the meat component) or the noncarcass component, which comprises the mesenteric and omental fat depots. Furthermore, the protein content of the whole carcass and more particularly of the meat component increased at a rate of 29.2 and 19.5 g, respectively, for each millimeter of backfat thickness reduction.

¹ Animal Research Centre, Contribution No. 1294.

² The authors wish to acknowledge M. E. Murray, R. A. Arcand and R. W. Allen for their skillful technical assistance and to the Animal Research Centre's operational staff for the care and feeding of the animals.