Effect of sex, soybean oil, bagasse and molasses on carcass composition and composition of muscle and fat tissue in swine.

31_T ued H E current image of pork as a food is in part to the concern about the relation of fat to cholesterol and heart disease. However, pork fat is unusually high among animal products in the unsaturated fatty acids. The variation in composition of lean, as well as the effects that different feeds, rate of gain or sex of animal have on this composition, is not clear. Certain feeds high in oily fats are known to produce soft or oily pork (Cunha, 1957). Sink et al. (1964) reported that the major fatty acids of depot fat showed deposition preference patterns due to weight of pig and site of sample. Data are not available, however, to show intramuscular fat composition nor the factors that affect it. This study was designed (1) to obtain further information on composition of subcutaneous fat and muscle tissue; (2) to study the effect of sex, soybean oil, fiber and molasses on certain physical and chemical aspects of these tissues; and (3) to determine the influence of these variables on the ratio of the six major fatty acids in both depot and intramuscular lipid.