Effects of red clover silage and RN genotype on sensory quality of prolonged frozen stored pork (M. Longissimus dorsi)

The aim of this project was to study the sensory quality and cooking loss of frozen stored pork loins from pigs with and without the RN- allele, fed conventional feed with and without an admixture of red clover silage. Loins (M. Longissimus dorsi) from 29 three-way cross-bred slaughter pigs (Swedish landrace x Yorkshire sows and Hampshire sires) were vacuum-packed, frozen and stored at -20°C for 1 year. A descriptive test, conventional profiling, was performed by a selected and trained sevenmember panel. The loins from RN- carrier pigs scored higher for acidulous taste, juiciness and tenderness, and had a higher cooking loss, than those from non-carriers. Most of the pork without a fat layer was acceptable to eat after 1 year of frozen storage but pork loins from pigs fed silage scored higher for off-flavour and acidulous taste than the ones from pigs fed conventional feed.