Soladoye, P. O., Shand, P. J., Aalhus, J. L., Garie´py, C. and Jua´rez, M. 2015. Review: Pork belly quality, bacon properties and recent consumer trends. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 95: 325Á340. Several factors can affect pork belly quality and, subsequently, bacon quality. Going by the recent trends in the bacon market and bearing in mind the more choosy nature of the consuming populace, it is imperative to consider the factors that can affect or improve bacon quality, thereby sustaining the current market surge. In as much as both genetic and environmental factors have been identified as largely affecting muscle food quality, nutritional interventions also seem to be a very viable tool to improve the quality of meat and its products. Processing and storage methods can also affect bacon quality, including microbial quality, physicochemical attributes and palatability. Both objective and subjective measures have been explored in assessing belly quality, most of which use belly softness and fatty acid profile as yardsticks, whereas bacon quality has been widely assessed only subjectively in terms of fat quality and slice integrity. Although consumers' and producers' quality perceptions seem to be in conflict, it is the responsibility of all stakeholders in the bacon industries to come together in ensuring a balanced approach to satisfy both parties along the production chain.Key words: Belly softness, environmental factors, genetic factors, nutritional factors, bacon quality Soladoye, P. O., Shand, P. J., Aalhus, J. L., Garie´py, C. et Jua´rez, M. 2015. Article de synthe`se: La qualite´de poitrine de porc, les caracte´ristiques du bacon et les tendances re´centes des consommateurs. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 95: 325Á340. Plusieurs facteurs peuvent influencer la qualite´de poitrine de porc et donc, par conse´quent, la qualite´du bacon. Selon les tendances re´centes dans le marche´du bacon, gardant a`l'esprit la nature plus se´lective des consommateurs, il est impe´ratif de prendre en conside´ration les facteurs qui peuvent influencer ou ame´liorer la qualite´du bacon, et ainsi soutenir l'e´lan courant du marche´. Dans la mesure que les facteurs ge´ne´tiques et environnementaux ayant un effet sur la qualite´de viande ont e´teí dentifie´s, les interventions nutritionnelles semblent un outil viable pour ame´liorer la qualite´de la viande et de ses produits. Les me´thodes de traitement et d'entreposage peuvent aussi avoir un effet sur la qualite´du bacon, incluant la qualiteḿ icrobienne, les caracte´ristiques physico-chimiques et la palatabilite´. Des mesures objectives et subjectives ont e´teé xplore´es pour e´valuer la qualite´de poitrine, dont la plupart utilisent la douceur de la poitrine et le profil d'acides gras comme jalon, tandis que la qualite´du bacon est largement e´value´e seulement en termes subjectifs comme la qualite´du gras et l'inte´grite´de la coupe. Bien que la perception de qualite´des consommateurs et des producteurs semblent contradictoires, il est la responsabilite´de tous les intervenants des industries du bac...

Burlinguette, N. A., Strawford, M. L., Watts, J. M., Classen, H. L., Shand, P. J. and Crowe, T. G. 2012. Broiler trailer thermal conditions during cold climate transport. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 92: 109–122. Thermal environments within broiler transport vehicles are dependent on ambient conditions and, if poorly managed, can be a welfare concern. To effectively manage broiler transport, the environmental conditions throughout vehicles must be understood. Under standard commercial practices, temperature and humidity levels in double-trailer broiler vehicles were examined for a range of ambient temperatures (−24 to 11°C). During warmer ambient conditions (9.8°C) trailer roof vents and side curtains were all open, which resulted in a narrowing of the on-board temperature range (10.3 to 16.7°C). As ambient temperature cooled side curtains and some of the roof vents were closed. This resulted in increasingly variable and more extreme thermal conditions, with heat and moisture accumulated along the midline of the load near the front of the lead trailer and near the back of the rear trailer. At an ambient temperature of −22.1°C trailer temperatures ranged from −20.7 to 21.7°C with an estimated 58.6% of the load volume being exposed to temperatures below 0°C. In addition, the trailer humidity ratio rose 14.0 g kg−1 above ambient and conditions approached saturation (RH>80%) in 55.2% of the load volume. These results support the need to find a means to remove moisture and redistribute heat on broiler trailers during cold ambient conditions.