In a paper presented at the 2011 Kansas Swine Day, G.R. Skaar explained that a total of 288 finishing pigs (PIC TR4×1050, initially 129.6lb) were utilised as part of a 73–day feeding study to determine the effects of S-DDGS in sorghum– or corn–based diets on ground pork quality.

The dietary treatments included sorghum-based diets with 0, 15, 30 or 45 per cent S-DDGS, a sorghum-based diet with 30 per cent corn DDGS (C-DDGS) and a corn-based diet with 30 per cent C-DDGS.

Shoulders from 24 barrow and 24 gilt carcasses were ground, packaged and evaluated for proximate and fatty acid composition, iodine value (IV), objective colour and oxidation shelf-life, as well as sensory attributes.

Finishing diet and gender did not interact to affect composition, fatty acid profile, colour or oxidative rancidity (P>0.05).

Pork from gilts contained less fat and more moisture (P<0.001), was less saturated with a greater IV and total percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; P<0.01) and was also darker (P<0.001) and more red (P=0.004) than pork from barrows.

Gender did not affect (P>0.05) total colour change from 0 to 120 hours, oxidative rancidity or sensory attributes of ground pork.

Finishing diet had no effect on total fat, moisture or protein composition.

Increasing S-DDGS resulted in a linear (P<0.001) decrease in saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and an increase (P<0.01) in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and pork IV. Pork from pigs fed 30 per cent S-DDGS had a greater percentage of MUFA, a lower percentage of PUFA and reduced IV than pork from pigs fed 30 per cent C-DDGS.

Diet did not affect oxidative rancidity (P=0.37) or objective colour CIE L* (brightness), a* (redness) or b* (yellowness) values (P=0.09) but was shown to influence total colour change (P=0.01), with pork from pigs fed sorghum grain and 30 per cent S-DDGS showing less total change than all other dietary treatments.

All pork products were characterised with similar sensory descriptors.

Overall, increasing S-DDGS during finishing resulted in ground pork with a more unsaturated fatty acid profile, concluded Skaar and co-authors. They found that utilisation of S-DDGS compared with an equal level of C-DDGS resulted in pork with a more saturated fatty acid profile and reduced IV. However, product differences were not carried through to alter oxidative rancidity or sensory attributes in the meat.

Reference

Skaar G.R., T.A. Houser, K.M. Sotak, R.D. Goodband, B.L. Goehring, A. Stickel, B.M. Gerlach and K. Steele. 2011. Effect of sorghum dried distillers grains with solubles on composition, retail stability, and sensory attributes of ground pork from barrows and gilts. Proceedings of 2011 Kansas Swine Day, p341-353.

Further Reading You can view the full report and other papers presented at the 2011 Kansas Swine Day by clicking here.