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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: jas.2008-1355v1 87/11/3578    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Musella, M. Articles by Corino, C. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Musella, M. Articles by Corino, C.

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid from extruded linseed influences the fatty acid composition and sensory characteristics of dry-cured ham from heavy pigs¹

M. Musella^*, S. Cannata^*, R. Rossi^*, J. Mourot, P. Baldini and C. Corino^*,2

^* Department of Veterinary Sciences and Technologies for Food Safety, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milan, Italy; and INRA, UMR 1079, Systèmes d'Elevage, Nutrition Animale et Humaine, F-35590 St-Gilles, France; and Stazione Sperimentale per l’Industria delle Conserve Alimentari, Via F. Tanara 31/a, 43100 Parma, Italy

² Corresponding author: carlo.corino{at}unimi.it

Twenty-four barrows (78.1 ± 1.7 kg of initial BW) were fed a control diet (2.5% sunflower oil) or an experimental diet containing 5% whole extruded linseed. Both diets were supplemented with 170 mg of vitamin E/kg of feed. At slaughter (160 ± 9.2 kg of BW), 6 hams were collected per group and delivered to Stazione Sperimentale per l’Industria delle Conserve Alimentari of Parma for seasoning. There was no effect (P > 0.05) of diet on the physicochemical characteristics of dry-cured ham. The linseed diet increased (P < 0.05) the content of n-3 PUFA in trimmed fat (green ham), semimembranosus muscle, subcutaneous adipose tissue, and the whole slice (dry-cured ham). Moreover, there was a decrease in the n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio from 12 to 3 in all of those tissues. In contrast, the greater -linolenic acid content in linseed caused an increase in the iodine value of green hams to a value that is not accepted by the Parma Ham Consortium. A sensory consumer test indicated that linseed-enriched dry-cured ham had the least acceptance score for odor, taste, and overall acceptability descriptors. These data suggest that the use of extruded linseed for pig feed is an acceptable way to improve the nutritional quality of long-cured pork products but could be limited by negative effects on the sensory characteristics of dry-cured ham.

Key Words: dry-cured ham • linseed • n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid • pig • pork quality • sensory evaluation