FREE RANGE PIGS - QUALITY OF THE PRODUCTS FROM THE MEAT LABEL NEULAND- 1 - DIFFERENTIATION FROM COMMON PRODUCTS

Neuland is a label standing for an established German free range fatte ning system including a series of further animal-welfare related regul ations concerning fattening, housing and slaughter procedure. In order to describe objective characteristics of pork produced according to t hese label conditions, a comparison was drawn with pork from common fa ttening systems. A total of 251 pigs either produced under the meat la bel Neuland or derived from common fattening systems (control) were us ed to evaluate carcass composition and early post mortem meat quality traits. Additionally, meat and fat samples for laboratory analysis wer e taken from 96 pigs, which were selected in a balanced manner from th e experimental groups. The Neuland pigs were significantly heavier and fatter than the control pigs. As compared with 25 % PSE in control, t he incidence of PSE was only 11 % in the Neuland pigs. In the Neuland pork, water holding capacity, tenderness and overall palatability were higher than in control, whereas no differences to control were found in flavour and juiciness. In the backfat of the Neuland pigs, proporti on of saturated fatty acids, firmness and melting temperatures were hi gher than in control, whereas oxidative stability was lower. Belly of Neuland pigs contained more cholesterol. According to the present data , the differences to control were more likely due to genetic origin, f eeding, and pre-slaughter handling of the pigs than to free range keep ing alone. Overall, the Neuland system seems suitable to produce free range pork which is different from common pork not only by means of et hics but also in terms of objective quality traits.