Effect of carcass weight and gender on main tissue distribution in carcass main cuts

The present study was carried out on 99 pig carcasses originated from PIC hybrid pigs slaughtered in PIK Vrbovec slaughterhouse. Animals were reared in the same environmental conditions and fed the same diet. Carcasses were dissected using PIK commercial method of cutting and dissection. From the 4 main cuts, shoulder, ham, loin and ribs, main tissues were dissected: lean, subcutaneous fat with skin and bones, respectively. According to carcass weight, carcasses were divided into 6 weight groups as follows; 120 kg, 130 kg, 140 kg, 150 kg, 160 kg and 170 kg. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of carcass weight and gender on the distribution of commercially dissected lean, fat and bone tissues in the main parts of pig carcass and to analyse the same components between six weight groups. It is confirmed that the gender had a significant effect on fat content. Lean meat content was reduced with increasing carcass weight, while the fat content increases with higher carcass weights. Declining trend is found by observing the relative values of bone content with significant differences between the lightest and heaviest groups.