CRITERIA OF BELLY BACON DESIRABILITY. I. FAT–LEAN RATIO OF THE PORK BELLY IN RELATION TO BACKFAT, CARCASS WEIGHT AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY

Abstract

Belly composition in relation to specific gravity of the cured belly and weight and backfat measurements of the carcass was evaluated on a sample of 730 carcasses. Substantial sex differences were observed with boars (n = 109) having 4.5% less fat in the belly than gilts (n = 379) and gilts 2.7% less fat than castrates (n = 242). Percent fat of belly increased in a linear fashion with increasing backfat thickness with the change consistent for each sex across the carcass weight range (56–90 kg). In regression analysis of the total population, backfat explained 46.1% of the total variance in percent fat of the belly, weight after backfat 0.5% and specific gravity after weight 36.1%. Inclusion of sex in the regression equation increased the proportion of variance explained by 0.4% (from 82.7 to 83.1). Carcass weight, backfat thickness, and percent fat in the belly were directly related to belly weight expressed as a proportion of carcass weight and inversely related to percent curing shrink.