Is there a potential international market for Danish welfare pork? - A consumer survey from Denmark, Sweden, and Germany.

This cross-country study investigates the potential to improve pig welfare by exploiting consumer demand, domestically and in export markets, for welfare pork produced in indoor production systems. The analysis is based on questionnaire data collected in 2019 focusing on demand for Danish welfare pork both in Denmark and in two nearby export markets, Sweden and Germany. To reduce hypothetical bias, a willingness-to-pay indicator is combined with an indicator of positive interest in buying a fictive Danish welfare labelled pork. We find that the market potential is relatively weak. Our findings indicate that there is some, albeit limited, potential in Denmark and Germany while demand is practically non-existing in Sweden, probably because the pig welfare guaranteed by Swedish legislation is similar to what is provided by the fictive welfare label employed in the study. Hence, consumer demand alone cannot secure enhanced pig welfare. Moreover, we found national differences in the characteristics of consumers who are interested in Danish welfare pork.

Regulation and Consumer Interest in an Antioxidant-Enriched Ham Associated with Reduced Colorectal Cancer Risks.

An economic experiment was conducted in France in 2020 to evaluate consumer attitudes toward two ham products associated with different colorectal cancer risks. We focused specifically on comparing a conventional ham and a new hypothetical antioxidant-enriched ham with a reduced risk of provoking colorectal cancer. Study participants were given descriptions of the two hams before carrying out successive rounds of willingness-to-pay (WTP) assessments. The results show that WTP was higher for the antioxidant-enriched ham than for the conventional ham. WTP estimates were also impacted by providing additional information about the reduction in colorectal cancer risk associated with the antioxidant-enriched ham. Based on the participants' WTP, we came up with ex ante estimates for the social impacts of introducing the antioxidant-enriched ham onto the market, and we suggest that it would be socially optimal to promote the product. Competition arising from pre-existing product labelling and marketing assertions could greatly limit the market potential of antioxidant-enriched ham, which suggests that alternative approaches may be necessary, such as regulations mandating antioxidant enrichment. These results also concern all countries with high levels of meat consumption.

Microbial contamination and associated risk factors in retailed pork from key value chains in Northern Vietnam.

Pork and pork products are important staple food in the diet of Vietnamese consumers. The safety of pork, including biological contamination, is a concern to several public authorities and value chain actors. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify Salmonella and total bacterial count (TBC) contamination of cut pork sold in different outlets, and determine the potential factors leading to contamination. A total of 671 pork samples were collected from different retail channels in three provinces in Northern Vietnam. Hygiene conditions and practices at pork vending premises were also observed and recorded. Data analysis used descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Overall, Salmonella prevalence in retailed pork was 58.1%. Salmonella contamination in pork from traditional retail, modern retail and food services were 60.5%, 50.9% and 80.5%, respectively. Eighty percent and 68% of fresh pork in canteen and street food was contaminated with Salmonella. Only a small proportion of a subset of the pork samples (6.2%) tested met the Vietnamese standard requirement for TBC contamination. Average concentration of TBC in fresh pork in traditional retail, modern retail and food services were 6.51 (SD: 0.64), 6.38 (0.65), and 6.96 (0.85) LogCFU/g, respectively. Transport time, use of the same tools for pork and other types of meat, storage temperature, and environment hygiene are important factors that might affect microbial contamination. The findings underline the high level of microbial contamination, which requires practical interventions to improve food safety hygiene practices and behavior of pork retailers.

Back-fat thickness as a primary index reflecting the yield and overall acceptance of pork meat.

Predicting aspects of lean meat yield and eating quality of pork based on some particular carcass traits become increasingly important from an economic profitability point of view. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between the back-fat (BF) thickness with lean meat yield and meat quality traits of crossbred pigs. A total of 220 crossbred pigs [(Landrace × Yorkshire) ♀ × Duroc ♂] reared under identical conditions and harvested at 180 days old were slaughtered and screened for BF thickness. Four BF thickness groups: 12-15, 16-20, 21-25, and 26-30 mm were classified, and longissimus dorsi (LD) muscles from these groups were used to analyze meat quality characteristics. Results showed that increasing BF thickness decreased the lean meat yield and loin lean area. Increasing BF thickness up to 26-30 mm increased intramuscular fat content and pH of LD muscles. The LD muscles of the thicker BF (21-30 mm) groups received significantly higher flavor, juiciness, and overall acceptability scores than those of the thinner back-fat (12-20 mm) groups. Overall, when all the pre-harvest factors are kept the same, BF thickness could be considered as a primary index for predicting lean meat yield, and the minimal back-fat thickness of 21-30 mm is required to improve the overall acceptability of pork meat.

Understanding consumers' perceptions towards Iberian pig production and animal welfare.

The Spanish market offers a greater variety of Iberian pork products. The aim of this paper is to determine the perception of consumers of several aspects of Iberian pig production and animal welfare depending on the consumers' characteristics. Consumers from two Spanish regions (n = 403) answered a questionnaire about their beliefs and the importance of pig production, their purchase intentions and their willingness to pay. Consumers were segmented according to their level of knowledge about Iberian pig production. The results of this work indicate that consumers have poor knowledge about Iberian pig production. Even so, consumers show a remarkable preference for Iberian products, especially when the animals are reared freely and in natural conditions, giving great importance to animal welfare. Consumer preferences indicate the importance of emphasizing Iberian traditional pig product characteristics on the label to promote their purchase choices.

The Impact of the Food Labeling and Other Factors on Consumer Preferences Using Discrete Choice Modeling-The Example of Traditional Pork Sausage.

In our study, we examined whether product characteristics indicated by food labels matter in purchasing decisions for sausage made from traditional Hungarian mangalica pork; and how much consumers are willing to pay for them. On the other hand, we also tried to measure whether any changes in consumers' preferences occurred in recent years. Two product characteristics (label of origin and different mangalica meat content) and two other factors (place of purchase and price) are examined in a discrete choice experiment based on stated preference data. According to our expectations, government-funded consumer campaigns in recent years have had an impact on consumers purchase of this traditional product, and they pay more attention to food labels, which can also be influenced by sociodemographic characteristics. Our results have been compared to a previous choice-model based research, investigating consumers' attitude towards similar mangalica pork products. Three different types of models (multinomial logit, random parameter logit, and latent class) are employed, from which two types of models account for the heterogeneity in preferences. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the advertisements promoting traditional meat consumption had only a partial effect on consumer attitudes. Consumers clearly prefer the label of origin indicating meat from registered animals and purchasing on the farmers' market, but according to the indication of the different mangalica meat content in the product, we have already reached conflicting results. Three consumer segments were identified: "price sensitive, loyal to label, label neutral" based on latent class model estimates.

The effect of immunization against gonadotropin-releasing factor in market gilts: Meta-analyses of parameters relevant for pig producers, pork packers and retailers/consumers.

The vaccine against gonadotropin releasing factor (GnRF), Improvac®, has recently emerged as an option for rearing market gilts up to heavier harvest weights. Improvac's® temporary suppression of the ovarian function and gonadal hormones results in greater feed intake and better welfare from avoidance of sexual behavioral problems. Based on 22 published articles, our meta-analysis has quantified the effect of immunizing gilts against GnRF on parameters relevant for pig producers, pork packers and retailers/consumers. The meta-analyses included growth performance and final harvest parameters, general carcass traits and yield of valuable meat, meat and fat quality parameters. Primary analyses considered studies without ractopamine, subgroup and additional analyses assessed the impact of co-variates. From the perspective of pig producers, primary analyses showed that immunized (IM) gilts have significantly (P < 0.001) increased average daily gain (+45.1 g/day) and daily feed intake (+0.19 kg/day), higher final live weight (+4.0 kg) and more backfat (+2.8 mm). From the perspective of the pork packers, IM gilts have heavier carcasses (+3.2 kg; P < 0.001), whereas dressing percentage is similar. IM gilts are less lean (-1.5% units; P < 0.001) and have 0.21% units more intramuscular fat (P = 0.001). The yield of ham, shoulder, and loin is similar, whereas the yield of belly is significantly higher (+0.28 kg; P < 0.001). There are no differences in meat quality parameters (color, pH24, and drip loss) between IM gilts and untreated gilts, whereas a lower iodine value in IM gilts indicates an improved fat quality. Further subgroup and additional analyses confirmed the validity of our meta-analysis.

Impact of merging commercial breeding lines on the genetic diversity of Landrace pigs.

BACKGROUND: The pig breeding industry has undergone a large number of mergers in the past decades. Various commercial lines were merged or discontinued, which is expected to reduce the genetic diversity of the pig species. The objective of the current study was to investigate the genetic diversity of different former Dutch Landrace breeding lines and quantify their relationship with the current Dutch Landrace breed that originated from these lines. RESULTS: Principal component analysis clearly divided the former Landrace lines into two main clusters, which are represented by Norwegian/Finnish Landrace lines and Dutch Landrace lines. Structure analysis revealed that each of the lines that are present in the Dutch Gene bank has a unique genetic identity. The current Dutch Landrace breed shows a high level of admixture and is closely related to the six former lines. The Dumeco N-line, which is conserved in the Dutch Gene bank, is poorly represented in the current Dutch Landrace. All seven lines (the six former and the current line) contribute almost equally to the genetic diversity of the Dutch Landrace breed. As expected, the current Dutch Landrace breed comprises only a small proportion of unique genetic diversity that was not present in the other lines. The genetic diversity level, as measured by Eding's core set method, was equal to 0.89 for the current Dutch Landrace breed, whereas total genetic diversity across the seven lines, measured by the same method, was equal to 0.99. CONCLUSIONS: The current Dutch Landrace breed shows a high level of admixture and is closely related to the six former Dutch Landrace lines. Merging of commercial Landrace lines has reduced the genetic diversity of the Landrace population in the Netherlands, although a large proportion of the original variation is maintained. Thus, our recommendation is to conserve breeding lines in a gene bank before they are merged.

Improving the management procedures in farms infected with the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus using PDP models.

Pig meat production need to be built up in the future due to the increase of the human population worldwide. To address this challenge, there is plenty of room for improvement in terms of pig production efficiency that could be severely hampered by the presence of diseases. In this sense, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) is one of the most costly disease present in industrial pork production in Europe and North America. We have developed a model to analyze the effect of different management procedures to control this important virus in different epidemiological scenarios. Our results clearly suggest that no cross-fostering during lactation and the maintaining of litter integrity significantly decrease the number of sick and dead animals during the rearing period compared to scenarios where cross-fostering and no litter integrity are practiced. These results highlight the relevance of different management strategies to control PRRSV and quantify the effect of limiting cross-fostering and avoiding mixing animals from different litters in PRRSV positive farms to optimize animal production. Our findings will allow pig farmers to apply these management procedures to control this disease under field conditions in a very cost-effective way.