Carcass traits and meat quality of pigs fed on fodder supplemented with sunflower oil or conjugated linoleic acid

The aim of the study was to compare meat and fat content and meat quality of pigs fed diet supplemented with sunflower oil (SFO) or conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and animals not receiving the supplement SFO or CLA (control group). The experiment consisted of 116 pigs, divided into three groups: two experimental (n = 40) where animals were fed feed supplemented with 2% sunflower oil (SFO) or conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and control (n = 36). Fattening pigs were kept and fed in standardized conditions. The animals were slaughtered at a body weight of 120 kg. Meat quality traits (pH, drip loss, backfat fat content, colour, MLLT muscle dry matter content, fat in the dry matter, IMF in MLLT) were determined. Summarizing obtained results it should be concluded that 2% sunflower oil or conjugated linoleic acid did not affect the meat quality. The experimental animals were characterized by high meat content (58.26% - SFO addition; 57.63% - CLA addition; 57.99% C group) and low fat content (from 14.35 mm in SFO group up to 14.70 mm in CLA group).