Estratègies prèvies al sacrifici que poden afectar el benestar animal i la qualitat de la carn de porcs de diferent genotip RYRI

The main objective of this thesis was to study (i) the effect of the fasting and lairage on carcass and technological meat quality and (ii) the inclusion of magnesium (MgCO3 and MgSO4) and/or tryptophan during 5 days before slaughtering pigs as a strategy to decrease stress levels and improve meat quality, with two different porcine RYR1 genotypes (NN and nn). An adequate combination of fasting and lairage period is recommended. A supplement of MgCO3 or Trp did not improve meat quality under minimal stressful ante mortem conditions; and MgSO4 had a laxative effect on pigs supplemented with it. When including nn pigs to the herd, it is recommended to consider the supplements’ combination of tryptophan and a source of Mg (avoiding MgSO4) to alleviate the negative effect of the stress and to improve technological meat quality.

Efecto de la aplicación de altas presiones hidrostáticas en un producto de origen animal, el jamón curado y en un producto vegetal, el nabo

High pressure processing is a food preservation technique which can be an alternative to heat treatment. Pressurization, in theory, produces changes in organoleptic properties and antioxidant compounds to a lesser extent. The objective of the present dissertation has been to study the effect of high pressure processing on oxidative processes and their relation to the organoleptic qualities of diced swede and packaged sliced ham. The results have pointed to pressurization at 600 MPa, and produce an effective decontamination is that which causes less loss of compounds or antioxidant properties. For swede, this pressure level also caused a minor modification of the organoleptic qualities. This dissertation has also shown that depending on feed composition, the effect of pressurization on the organoleptic qualities can be diametrically opposite.