Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The food industry is constantly adapting and is to a large extent shaped by the desires of its consumers. Consumer food desires are dictated by a variety of reasons such as nutrition or taste. We have to consider the impact that our production methods and food choices have on the climate and must collectively attempt to reduce our climate footprint. In this study, the current issue of the increasing Swedish wild boar population was assessed, and the quality of the meat was examined. The Swedish wild boar population has increased rapidly in recent years, reaching numbers of around 200,000 in 2018 (Svenska Jägareförbundet 2018). The uncontrolled wild boar population is problematic for several reasons. One reason is that they roam around crop fields, consequently trampling and destroying crops that are for human consumption. Their damage contributes to large amounts of food waste. Additionally, the uncontrollable population have become road hazards and caused traffic accidents. Since the Swedish wild boar population must be controlled, it is essential to know whether we can utilise their meat. By controlling the population by hunting for example, we can reduce traffic accidents and crop damage and benefit from their meat. It is, therefore, important to investigate the quality of the Swedish wild boar meat as it may be an additional food source to satisfy consumer needs. Wild boar meat has a low climate footprint, is nutritious and has higher contents of omega-3 fatty acids in comparison to pork (Barbani et al. 2011). Wild boar meat may, therefore, serve as a useful alternative to pork. In this study, wild boar meat quality was investigated and compared to meat from commercially bred pigs. The wild boar meat was obtained from a game handling facility in Skåne called Skånska vilt and the commercial pork from Lövsta abattoir in Uppsala. To assess meat quality, colour, pH value, fat content and fatty acid composition was measured from meat samples of the shoulder muscle. A sensory evaluation with an untrained tasting panel was carried out to test for possible variation in taste and aroma between wild boar meat and pork. The results showed that meat from the wild boar had a higher ultimate pH value in comparison to meat from domestic pigs (p = 0.004). There was a significant colour difference between pork and wild boar meat where meat from wild boar was darker and had more intense red colour compared to the meat from pigs. No colour difference between male and wild boar sow was detected. No significant difference in the fat content between male and wild boar sow meat or between the wild boar meat and pork meat was found. There was also no difference in fatty acid composition between the male and sow meat of the wild boar.