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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Effects of pig age at market weight and magnesium supplementation through drinking water on pork quality
Posted in: Meat Quality by admin on January 1, 2006 | No Comments
Effect of organic pig production systems on performance and meat quality
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Estimating the Market Demand for Value-Added Beef: Testing for BSE Announcement Effects Using a Nested PIGLOG Model Approach
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To analyze the market demand for fresh retail meats in the grocery store distribution channel, we build upon a well-developed microeconomic model of consumer choice that incorporates the role information plays in individual decision-making (Swartz and Strand; Smith, van Ravenswaay and Thompson; Brown and Schrader; Wessells, Miller and Brooks; Piggott; Piggott and Marsh; Kalaitzandonakes, Marks and Vickner; Marks, Kalaitzandonakes and Vickner). Mathios (2000) in particular investigated the impact of labels on a processed food market using a random utility model. Teisl, Bockstael and Levy (2001) used the Foster and Just (1989) framework in conjunction with an Almost Ideal Demand System (Deaton and Muelbauer) to investigate the impact of labeling in a small sample of stores in New England. Both the Mathios and Teisl et al. studies were limited in terms of data quality; lack of a representative sample and low frequency time series diminished their findings.
A MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR THE VALIDATION OF SAFE AIR-BLAST CHILLING OF COOKED HAMS
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Association of corticotropin-releasing hormone gene variation with performance and meat quality traits in commercial pig lines
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The porcine corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) gene is a functional–positional candidate
for quantitative tract loci on porcine chromosome 4 with major effects on growth and
carcass composition. In addition, the central role of CRH in the neuroendocrine response to
stress implicates the CRH gene as a functional candidate for meat quality. Association of a
single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promoter region of the porcine CRH gene
(g.233C>T) with several growth, carcass and meat quality traits was examined using more
than 2000 individuals from four commercial lines: German Landrace (LR), Pietrain (Pi),
German Large White · German Landrace (F1) and the German commercial fattening pig
cross of Pietrain · F1 (PiF1). Significant association of the CRH SNP was found with feed
conversion ratio in the PiF1 line, with carcass length in the LR line and with lean content in
the F1, LR and Pi lines. Moreover, significant association with meat colour was found in the
Pi and LR lines; however, the effects were in opposite directions. The presented results
indicate that sequence variation in the porcine CRH gene has no major effect on growth and
carcass composition in commercial pig lines, although it may significantly contribute to
variation in meat quality. The g.233C>T SNP may be in incomplete linkage disequilibrium
with causal mutations and/or exhibit effects in the context of DNA variation at other
interacting loci.
Effect of meat appearance on consumer preferences for pork chops in Greece and Cyprus
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The intensity of pig production as well as the quality of pork meat has recently attracted consumer concern, which is manifested through their attitude towards pork (Bryhni et al., 2002; Ngapo, Martin, & Dransfield, 2002; Ngapo et al., 2004a). Today, besides concerns about production methods, pork quality is a contentious issue as a consequence of the absence of a single common definition and the fact that quality has evolved further from just implying lean yield percentage and back fat thickness. For example, quality now refers to all or some of the following: (i) carcass characteristics and composition, such as carcass uniformity and consistency, lean yield and fat, (ii) meat characteristics such as colour, marbling, pH, PSE (pale, soft and exudative) score, DFD (dark, firm and dry) score, (iii) eating quality characteristics including tenderness, juiciness and flavour, (iv) processing and retailing characteristics, such as drip and cook losses as well as shelf life, and (v) nutritional characteristics such as protein, vitamin and mineral contents (Bredahl, Grunert, & Fertin, 1998; Grunert, Bredahl, & Brunsø, 2004). Appearance has a great influence on how meat, including pork, is valued by the consumer. However, appearance quality dimensions cannot be easily evaluated at the point of purchase because the views on quality are based on a form of conditioning where consumers associate available cues with the quality of the product. The notion is that quality cues can be intrinsic or extrinsic (Olson, 1978). Intrinsic quality cues are part of the physical product such as colour or fat content (Bredahl et al., 1998; Bryhni et al., 2002; Hurling & Shepherd, 2003; Ngapo, Martin, & Dransfield, 2004b). Extrinsic quality cues are everything else that is related to the product or its production process, such as price and packaging (Cardello, 1995; Meiselman, Johnson, Reeve, & Crouch, 2000; Verbeke & Viaene, 2000). The effect of meat appearance on consumer’s preferences for pork chops was assessed using images manipulated for appearance characteristics. Data was collected from 412 consumers in Greece and Cyprus. Consumers were asked for their preference for pork chops from a book of computer-modified images and then completed a questionnaire of socio-demographic information, including eating and purchasing behaviour. Consumers under the age of 35 years showed preferences for dark red, lean pork, while consumers aged 35 years and older preferred either dark or light red pork. Gender appeared to be an important selection factor as men showed an increased preference for dark red pork while women preferred the light red. Consumers who stated that they like pork for its taste (91%) preferred either dark or light red pork chops while those who like pork for reasons other than taste preferred dark red, lean pork. Urban consumers preferred light red, fatty pork chops while the rural consumers preferred the dark red pork chops.
Estimating the Impact of Voluntary Labeling of Trans Fats on the Market Demand for Processed Foods: A Nested PIGLOG Model Approach
Posted in: Meat Quality by admin on January 1, 2005 | No Comments
To analyze the market demand response to the introduction of voluntary trans fat labels, we build upon a well-developed microeconomic model of consumer choice that incorporates the role information plays in individual decision-making (Swartz and Strand; Smith, van Ravenswaay and Thompson; Brown and Schrader; Wessells, Miller and Brooks; Piggott; Piggott and Marsh; Kalaitzandonakes, Marks and Vickner; Marks, Kalaitzandonakes and Vickner). Mathios (2000) in particular investigated the impact of NLEA on a processed food market using a random utility model. Teisl, Bockstael and Levy (2001) used the Foster and Just (1989) framework in conjunction with an Almost Ideal Demand System (Deaton and Muelbauer) to investigate the impact of nutrient labeling in a small sample of stores in New England. Both the Mathios and Teisl et al. studies were limited in terms of data quality; lack of a representative sample and low frequency time series limit their findings.