FREE RANGE PIGS - QUALITY OF THE PRODUCTS FROM THE MEAT LABEL NEULAND- 2 - UNIFORMITY OF THE PRODUCTS

Apart from a clear differentiation from common products, a successful meat label is characterized by a constant quality of the products. In the present study, the variation in objective parameters of product qu ality was investigated in the production system Neuland, a label mainl y based on animal- and environmentally-friendly regulations. In detail , carcass and meat quality of 207 pigs from a total of 11 individual N euland farms and, as a control, of 44 pigs from three common control f arms were compared. Different from control, the Neuland farms employed very high percentages of German large White, and the diets showed a h igher variety between farms. Within the Neuland system, only small far m differences in carcass weight, percentage of lean meat in carcass, l oin and belly, early- and late-post mortem meat pH, water-binding capa city, sensory palatability, and cholesterol content of belly were foun d. A somewhat higher variation between farms was found in meat tendern ess as well as in firmness and composition of backfat. Additionally, c omparing the results with the data of a previous study confirms that t he variation in carcass composition and in meat quality traits seems t o be low enough both between farms and between regions to ensure that Neuland products have a typical characteristic and that differences to common products are not decisively concealed by the variation.