Meat quality in pig crosses with special quality characteristics as compared to present standard and brand pork supply.

In a field experiment in Niedersachsen products of six sire lines mated to BHZP hybrid sows of one herd were compared. They were fattened in 4 BEG-farms and slaughtered at the Premium abattoir Zeven, where meat quality traits were measured on about 3000 pig carcasses (300-800 per genetic group). It is shown that the present market standard from stress susceptible PI(PP)-boars produces 20 % PSE carcasses and the present quality brand standard from PI HA(NP) boars still 10 %, whereas all stress resistent (NN) products range below 2 % PSE. Hampshire crosses cause higher water -, reduced protein contents and lower final pH values among their progeny because of their disturbed glucose metabolism (RN-defect gene). Only in progeny of Danish Duroc boars the intramuscular fat content reached the desired 2 %, German products ranged between 1.2-1.5 %. Recommendations for breeding more uniform endproducts with higher quality standards are given.