Webinar Gitah Porcino, part 5: Meat quality

07-05-2022 | Health | News

With the support of 11 Dutch companies, Argentina’s Gitah Porcino Group organised a series of webinars to address practical challenges and solutions in the country’s pork production sector. This 5th episode focused on meat quality.

This webinar was held in The Hague, the Netherlands, and was hosted by Pig Progress editor Vincent ter Beek. Although aimed at the Argentinian market, the guest speakers are from around the world and shared their expertise from various related fields. The webinar has Spanish subtitles.

Hygienic, high-quality, affordable meat

“We are all working together to achieve one goal, said Roel van der Zanden, owner and executive MD of VDZ Trading. “Hygienic, high-quality, affordable meat. The slaughtering process is the final process in a long chain to convert pigs into a final product.”

Van der Zanden summarised the importance of an efficient slaughter process and the impact of data points and full traceability.

Connecting all the dots

Peter van Linden of precision livestock company LeeO shared his thoughts on the significance of precision technology and how this can help the pork sector to track the developments in an animal’s life, and what this means for the entire supply chain and the product that results. He highlights that when pigs enter the slaughtering process, by synchronising information back into the supply chain, breeders and nutritionists can use this valuable informaton to make better decisions early on in the process. Furthermore, precision data helps to optimised the value of the carcass, too. He explains why this is.

Pork standards and carcass quality traits

Dr Grant Walling, head of the meat group at Topigs Norsvin, has a background is in genetics, but much of the work he does is with the meat group. This includes meat scientists, who are responsible for tracing the pigs as they leave the farm until the final product “hits the place of our consumers” worldwide. He spoke about how various pork standards are met, how carcass quality traits need to be changed in the breeding goal, and the importance of making the final product satisfying to the final consumer.