Quality of Pork Meat Fed with Acorns (Quercus spp.)

Abstract

Pork is one of the most popular foods in Chile. Consumers are concerned about their nutritional quality and about the characteristics of the production systems. Outdoor production systems are the most valued by consumers due to animal welfare conditions related to the nutritional quality of the product. On the other hand, intensive or traditional confined pig production systems represent an environment that alters the nutrients in meat products. For this reason, outdoor production systems become more important, especially when nuts (Quercus spp.) are included in pig feeding. Acorn nuts have a high level of fatty acids transferred to the meat, increasing flavor and juiciness. This proposal is a bibliographic review that will also include the advantage of controlling an invasive species, such as wild boar for a small producer in southern Chile, who could obtain a meat product with healthy fatty acids, favoring the sustainability of the ecosystem.