Carcass quality and yield of pork cuts with the use of ractopamine

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of the additive ractopamine on the cuts yield and pork meat quality (pH, color, marbling and water holding capacity). For testing it was used 25 porks fed with 7.5ppm of ractopamine f and 25 porks without use of the additive. The cuts were obtained by fractionation of carcass in parts, which are: ham palette, upper palette, belly with rib and loin. To yield of standard export cuts it was used 30 carcasses, 15 of each treatment. The results of ham cuts and palette were expressed by the weight of the cut prepared in commercial standard, in relation of the weight of the entire piece obtained at the time before boning. The use of ractopamine in diet induced a reduction in yield of bacon palette (7.32%) and bacon loin (11.85%) and an increase in the yield of loin without fat (3.9%). In standard commercial cuts (with separation of bone and fat) it was observed higher yield shank (7.46%) and palette (9.03%) with the use of the additive. Regarding the quality of the meat, it was observed that the use of ractopamine in the diet had no influence on the color and water retention capacity and had influence on the reduction of marbling and the final pH. Thus, the use of ractopamine in pork diet influences the performance of commercial standard cuts and reduced carcass fat, not exerting negative influence on the quality of pork.