Effect of Dietary Ensiled Olive Cake Supplementation on Performance and Meat Quality of Apulo-Calabrese Pigs
Pasquale Caparra,
Luigi Chies,
Manuel Scerra,
Francesco Foti,
Matteo Bognanno,
Caterina Cilione,
Paolo De Caria,
Salvatore Claps,
Giulia Francesca Cifuni
Affiliations
Pasquale Caparra
Division of Animal Production, Department of Agriculture, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Via dell’Università, 25, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Luigi Chies
Division of Animal Production, Department of Agriculture, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Via dell’Università, 25, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Manuel Scerra
Division of Animal Production, Department of Agriculture, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Via dell’Università, 25, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Francesco Foti
Division of Animal Production, Department of Agriculture, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Via dell’Università, 25, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Matteo Bognanno
Division of Animal Production, Department of Agriculture, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Via dell’Università, 25, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Caterina Cilione
Division of Animal Production, Department of Agriculture, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Via dell’Università, 25, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Paolo De Caria
Division of Animal Production, Department of Agriculture, Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Via dell’Università, 25, 89124 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Salvatore Claps
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics—Research Centre for Animal Production and Aquaculture, S.S.7 Via Appia, 85051 Bella Muro, Italy
Giulia Francesca Cifuni
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics—Research Centre for Animal Production and Aquaculture, S.S.7 Via Appia, 85051 Bella Muro, Italy
The aim of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of different amounts of ensiled olive cake, a major pollutant from olive oil production, in the fattening diets of 30 Apulo-Calabrese pigs as a strategy to partially substitute the traditional cereal-based diet and improve animal performance and meat fatty acid composition. The animals, during a fattening period of 120 days, were fed with three dietary treatments containing increasing levels of ensiled olive cake: 0% (C), 20% (OC20) and 40% (OC40) on dry matter. No effect of the dietary treatment was found on the animal performance and proximate meat analysis results. The inclusion of ensiled olive cake in the diet led to differences in the fatty acid (FA) profile of intramuscular fat, with a higher proportion of monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA; p p p p < 0.001). In conclusion, the supplementation of ensiled olive cake at up to 40% in the diets of fattening pigs could represent a useful strategy in Mediterranean areas to naturally improve the nutritional value of meat and valorise a by-product of the olive industry, reducing its environmental impact and promoting the exploitation of this local feed resource according to the principles of the circular economy.
