Effects of slaughter weight and backfat depth on trimming, curing, and deboning losses and quality traits of Italian dry-cured ham

This study aimed at assessing the effects of two infra-vitam traits, specifically the slaughter weight (SW) and the ultrasound backfat depth (BCKF) on several post-mortem and quality traits of typical Prosciutto Veneto protected designation of origin (PDO) dry-cured ham. The trial was conducted on a population of 423 pigs fed using different strategies to generate a high variation in SW (175 +/- 15.5 kg) and BCKF (23.16 +/- 4.14 mm). All the left thighs were weighed at slaughter and the ham factory during the different processing phases. The fat cover depth of green trimmed hams was measured. Data were analyzed with a linear model including SW classified in tertiles, BCKF as a covariate, SW x BCKF interaction, sex, batch, and pen nested within batch. Our results highlighted that, for each 10 kg increase in SW, trimmed and seasoned ham weights increased by 0.76 and 0.54 kg, respectively. The increase in SW significantly reduced relative curing and deboning losses but did not affect ham fat cover depth and trimming losses. A rise in BCKF increased the ham fat cover depth and trimming losses and decreased the curing and deboning losses. Increases in SW and BCKF improved quality traits of the seasoned ham including fat cover depth, visible marbling, inner lean firmness, and fat color. These findings confirm the feasibility of increasing SW and BCKF, which will result in a reduction in the relative losses associated with the dry-curing process while improving the quality of the seasoned ham.