Meat Quality and Volatile Flavor Traits of Duroc, Berkshire and Yorksire Breeds

The present study evaluated the difference in objective and subjective meat quality properties among the pure-breed boars of Duroc, Berkshire and Yorkshire. Ten longissimus lumborum (LD) muscles were collected from each breed after 24 h slaughtering. The breed type showed a significant effect on intramuscular fat content, moisture (p < 0.01), pH, sarcoplasmic protein solubility and color (p < 0.05), whereas cooking loss and Warner Blazer shear force (WBsf) did not differ among the breeds. The Yorkshire breed showed significant (p < 0.05) lower sarcoplasmic protein solubility, pH and CIE a* value when compared with other breeds. The sensory panels identified Duroc as having greater overall acceptability and higher rating values than other breeds. The oleic acid content was significantly lower in the Berkshire (29.85%) than in the Duroc (40.19%) and Yorkshire breeds (38.18%, p < 0.05). The Yorkshire breed showed the most desirable ratio of polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids (0.31) than the Berkshire (0.16) and Duroc breeds (0.15, p < 0.05). 40 volatile compounds have been identified and quantified, while aldehydes were the most abundant among flavor substances. Aldehydes were negatively correlated with oleic acid content (p < 0.05). Current data indicated that each breed had their own merits and deficiencies in terms of meat qualityThe Yorkshire breed showed a greater number of weak points. Furthermore, this study indicated that individual fat-driven flavor components were greatly influenced by fatty acid composition. The polyunsaturated fatty acids did not show any negative effects on meat flavor if cooked meats were consumed soon after cooking.