Saturated Fats Do Not Yield Better Bacon: Research

A recent paper suggests producers may want to adjust pig diets when including distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). The paper was published in the Journal of Animal Science.

A recent paper suggests producers may want to adjust pig diets when including distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). The paper was published in the Journal of Animal Science. Some producers believe that feeding pigs saturated fats will undo the fat-softening effects of DDGS. Firmer fat means longer-lasting pork.

But researchers from the University of Illinois found that including saturated fats in DDGS diets makes no difference in fat quality.

Falling Production of Bacon and Pork Likely to Lead to Shortage Next Year
A trade group in the UK has warned consumers that 'a world shortage of pork and bacon is now unavoidable' next year.

The researchers formulated six corn-soybean meal diets to test the effects of saturated fat additives on carcass fat quality in pigs. Five of these diets contained DDGS.

According to the researchers, pork produced from pigs fed DDGS have reduced shelf life and increased susceptibility to oxidative damage. Oxidative damage affects texture, color, juiciness and the overall flavor of pork products.

"Distillers dried grains contain unsaturated fatty acids and those fatty acids are deposited into the fat of the animal," said Hans-Henrik Stein, study co-author and Department of Animal Science professor at the University of Illinois. "From a health standpoint, that's a good thing, but it can be a problem when producing pork products like bacon."

No Available: Soaps for Men That Smell Like Bacon and Beer
An American entrepreneur has come up with a range of macho soaps that smell like beer, bacon, wine and coffee.

According to Stein, high levels of unsaturated fats make pork belly fat too soft to slice for bacon. To counteract this problem, producers have included saturated fats such as corn germ, beef tallow, palm kernel oil and glycerol in diets containing DDGS in order to make the fat firmer.

For this study, corn germ, beef tallow, palm kernel oil and glycerol were each added to a diet containing DDGS. The researchers compared the performance of pigs fed each of these diets to the performance of pigs fed a diet containing DDGS with no saturated fats added and a control diet containing corn-soybean meal but no DDGS.

New Bacon Soda Gives New Yorkers' a Different Experience
New Yorkers were in for a different taste after sipping the new bacon soda unveiled by an American soda company.

Firmness of fat was tested by measuring the distance of "belly flop." This was done by draping the belly of the carcasses over a metal rod with the skin facing down. Ten centimeters below the rod, distance was measured between the two sides. The larger the distance was, the firmer the fat.

The researchers found that pigs fed the control diet containing no DDGS had greater belly flop distances than the pigs fed the other diets. There was no difference among the pigs fed the five diets containing DDGS.

Think Twice Before Eating Bacon
Just a stroke of bad luck for bacon lovers, for a recent study found that just two slices of this favorite food contains more than 50% of an adult’s daily salt limit.

This led researchers to conclude that adding saturated fats to diets containing DDGS has no effect on the fat quality of pigs.

Stein suggested that producers feeding high levels of DDGS reduce the amount fed in the last 3 to 4 weeks before harvest to avoid the softening of fat.

Source-Eurekalert