Pork Meat Quality of Preto Alentejano and Commercial Largewhite Landrace Cross

This work aimed to evaluate the physical-chemical characteristics of pork from a local breed (Portuguese black pork called Preto Alentejano) and a commercial breed. Sixteen animals were used, 4 females and 4 males from each breed. Animals had 80–100 kg of live weight. The longissimus muscle between the 5th thoracic vertebra and the 10th lumbar vertebra was used in the analysis. Samples were analysed for protein, fat, pigments, ashes, dry mater, water-holding capacity, and texture. Results of fat and pigments contents indicate significant (P<0.05 and P<0.01) differences for all treatments. For protein, ashes, dry mater, water-holding capacity and texture, no significant differences were found for sex. In the analysis of fatty acids composition, ten were detected, being the main ones C16:0, C18:0, C16:1, C18:1, C18:2. There was a predominance of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), followed by saturated (SFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA). Differences were significant for sex (P<0.01) and breed (P<0.01). Preto Alentejano breed and females presented the higher percentages of SFA (P<0.01) and MUFA (P<0.001) fatty acids. Differences between breeds might be due to breed production system and feed differences.