Consumer acceptability of dry‐cured hams from entire male pigs, gilts or barrows

Poster. The aim of this study was to assess the consumer acceptability of hams dry‐cured for more than seven months, processed from barrows, gilts or two groups of entire males exhibiting skatole levels lower than 0.11 μg/g of pure fat and androstenone levels ranging from 0.5 to 0.7 μg/g (group 1A) or from 1.5 to 2.3 μg/g (group 1B). The subset of 40 hams included in this study was selected from a larger population, and chosen for their higher carcass weight and backfat thickness.The yields of dry‐cured hams from entire males were 3.3% and 2.2% lower compared to barrows and gilts, respectively.Consumer acceptability of dry‐cured hams did not differ significantly between barrows, gilts and the two groups of entire males.However, consumer acceptability of dry‐cured hams processed from entire males with higher androstenone and/or skatole levels remains to be investigated.The levels of boar taint compounds seemed to be slightly reduced after processing.Regarding fatty acid composition of the dry‐cured hams, there were few differences between groups. The levels ofpolyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) tended to be higher in the dry‐cured ham fat of entire males as compared to gilts and barrows.