Kontext

The use of alternatives to surgical castration in producing pork and assessing boar taint in the slaughterhouse will enable consumers' needs to be met, with no consequences for the pork sector, for meat producers, or for exports. Action will be taken at various levels to achieve this objective, to provide pork that is improved in sensory terms, and free of unpleasant smells and tastes. First, work will be undertaken at the farm level, applying immunocastration, one of the alternatives to surgical castration (and to the production of boars). The best procedure for applying the vaccine with no negative effects on the quality of the meat and the carcass and ensuring that the problem of boar taint is resolved will be determined. Second, we will work on the other alternative to surgical castration, which is the production of boars, and we will assess the possibility of an indirect selection based on the boars' level of aggressiveness and direct selection based on boar taint genetic markers in order to determine the carcasses with the highest probability of this defect occurring. The relationship between pigs' aggressiveness and the presence of boar taint in the meat will also be determined. Finally, because both alternatives may entail a minimal risk of boar taint, it is necessary to ensure that the carcasses with the problem are detected, in order to separate them and treat them to reduce it. Accordingly, action will be taken to determine the level of boar taint using a non-invasive sensor that has the potential to be automated and included in the slaughter line.