Boar taint in the meat of entire male pigs: the problems and the potential solutions

Abstract

Boar taint in pork comes mainly from the presence of two molecules: androstenone and skatole. Androstenone is produced by the testes and skatole is synthetized from tryptophan by bacteria in the colon. Their content in fat tissues results from the balance between synthesis, elimination and reabsorption. The main way to decrease the androstenone concentration is genetic selection. Regarding skatole, the main ways involve husbandry, cleanliness of pens, management of microclimatic conditions and feeding strategy. Gender mixing and social instability have little influence on boar taint but it is important to control them to decrease the risk of fighting and lesions. Even if it is possible to drastically decrease the boar taint level, it will not be possible to reach undetectable levels in every single carcass. It is necessary to define an entire male pig carcass-use strategy. It involves understanding the factors leading to consumers’ rejection of tainted pork. The perception of sexual odors depends on factors related to the animal, the type of pork product, the way of cooking/consumption and the consumer oneself. Moreover, the two odorant molecules seem to interact. A modelling approach is necessary to consider the different specific cases, which requires methods to detect the odors on-line. Currently, only the detection by the human nose is operational in slaughterhouses and instrumental methods still have to be developed.