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Advances in livestock nutrition ... ... make meat more attractive to consumers T In the quest for healthier lifestyles, consumers are increasingly demanding leaner pig and poultry meat. To help satisfy market requirements, producers are making greater use of advances in livestock nutrition to improve production economics and meat quality, with associated benefits for processors. ANDREA BARLETTA explains their significance. he quest for healthier lifestyles has brought major changes in the qualities that consumers look for when it comes to buying meat and the global trend is moving firmly towards leaner meat. This has, in turn, resulted in significant changes in terms of what the retail sector stipulates from processors, what they require from producers and, in turn, what producers themselves demand of feed manufacturers. Advances in genetics have played a key role in helping livestock producers to reduce production costs by maximising feed utilisation and producing animals that yield a high percentage of lean meat. Now, producers are making use of the latest developments in animal nutrition to further exploit the genetic potential of these more advanced animals. Novel feed additives, such as betaine and enzymes, have been scientifically proven to optimise productivity from high genetic potential pigs and poultry and to produce the leaner meat that consumers want. Betaine (Betafin – Danisco Animal Nutrition) is finding increasing favour with producers around the world to improve production efficiency, carcass quality and ease of processing. Danisco’s Betafin is a form of natural betaine extracted from sugar beet, highly purified using patented chromatographic separation techniques. An amino acid derivative found in a wide variety of plant and invertebrate species, betaine acts as an osmolyte and accumulates in animal cells where it attracts water. This protects the animal from dehydration and allows it to more efficiently maintain its water balance, a continuous challenge that consumes up to 60% of the Reproduced from — Asian Meat: Processing and Marketing — July/August 2006 “Research has also shown that in addition to enhancing lean meat production, natural betaine also increases gut tensile strength, potentially reducing the risk of the animal’s intestines fracturing during processing and releasing digesta contents. The result is less potential for carcase contamination and fewer carcase downgrades.” energy used by the animal’s organs, for example the gut and liver. By reducing this energy requirement to maintain cellular water and ion balance, betaine releases more energy to fuel lean growth. At the same time, betaine’s beneficial effect on gut structure aids nutrient digestion and absorption, contributing to improved and more consistent animal performance. Proven effectiveness Research has highlighted betaine’s increasing importance in improving the physical and economic performance of pigs kept under commercial conditions, where on many units, for various reasons, energy intake may be limiting. This is particularly pertinent to animals reared in tropical and sub-tropical areas of Asia where ambient temperatures can substantially reduce feed intake. By releasing some of the energy needed to fuel lean tissue growth, dietary betaine can help to fill this energy deficit. This can, for example, be particularly useful for producers who wish to reap the benefit of porcine somatotropin (pST) because betaine counters the tendency for feed intake to drop in pST-treated pigs. Trials conducted by the Victoria Institute of Animal Science in Werribee, Australia, demonstrated that boars treated with pST alone deposited 31% more lean tissue per day than non-pST-treated animals, while betaine alone increased daily carcass lean gain by 13% compared with pigs fed diets containing no betaine. Boars used in the study also consumed around 2.7kg per day during the 35-day period before slaughter, a figure at the higher end of feed consumption normally seen under practical farming conditions in Australia. With lower and more typical commercial feed intakes the effects of betaine would have been even more pronounced. This example perfectly illustrates betaine’s energy-boosting properties. Because the pig uses less energy to maintain its water balance, it utilises feed more efficiently and directs more energy towards producing lean tissue. Even where pST is not used, betaine can still significantly increase carcass lean gain, particularly in improved genotypes selected for high rates of lean tissue deposition. Research has also shown that in addition to enhancing lean meat production, natural betaine also increases gut tensile strength, potentially reducing the risk of the animal’s intestines fracturing during processing and releasing digesta contents. The result is less potential for carcase contamination and fewer carcase downgrades. Trials conducted by the Agricultural Centre of Finland in collaboration with Danisco Global Innovation found that the tensile strength of the small intestine from pigs fed diets containing betaine at 1kg per tonne of feed increased by 33%. Similar improvements in gut tensile strength have also been noted in broilers fed diets supplemented with betaine (Betafin – Danisco Animal Nutrition). In one large-scale commercial field trial conducted by a U.S. commercial broiler integrator the inclusion of betaine in broiler diets at 780g per tonne of feed significantly increased gut tensile strength by 10%. In another trial, Colorado Quality Research in the USA found that feeding betaine at 750g/tonne of feed to coccidia-challenged birds resulted in significantly lower coccidial lesion scores and increased intestinal strength by 36%. These two effects may also be related, in that lower coccidial lesion scores are likely to result in healthier, stronger intestines better able to withstand processing. Range of benefits Betaine is not the only novel feed additive that is helping to improve lean meat production from pigs Reproduced from — Asian Meat: Processing and Marketing — July/August 2006 and poultry. Trials throughout the world have demonstrated how the addition of the feed enzyme Porzyme (Danisco Animal Nutrition) to pig diets improves carcass uniformity and lean meat percentage by releasing more nutrients from feed and allowing pigs to more readily reach their genetic potential for lean growth. Research conducted by Danisco in conjunction with the Institute of Agricultural Sciences of South Vietnam showed that in addition to improving the daily gain of grower/finisher pigs by 5% and feed:gain by 3%, the inclusion of Porzyme 9300 boosted lean percentage by 1.4% (from 48.4 to 49.8%) and reduced carcass backfat levels by 1mm. Net profit per pig (i.e. allowing for enzyme cost) rose by approximately VND 25,000 (USD 2) at the time of the trial. Further trials at the same Institute, using slightly different diets, showed improvements in growth rate and feed:gain of 6% and 4% respectively. Again, lean percentage was significantly improved by the addition of the enzyme from 53.9 to 55.3% and loin eye area was increased from 50.0 to 50.5 cm2. Net profit per pig increased by 6% as a result of these improvements. In a trial by a leading commercial Philippine producer, the inclusion of Porzyme in a corn-based diet significantly improved daily gain by 7% and feed:gain by 4%. The enzyme also resulted in a significant reduction in back fat levels (P1 + P2) from 23.0mm to 19.7mm. Lean percentage was correspondingly improved by 1.6% from 58.3 to 59.9%. global trend towards leaner meat is focusing the attention of feed producers on new approaches in animal nutrition. Feed enzymes and betaine are gaining acceptance as valuable nutritional tools to increase lean meat production as well as improving production efficiency. Danisco Animal Nutrition pioneered the development and use of these technologies in animal nutrition and is now a global leader in improving poultry and pig nutrition. Its focus is to deliver innovative, sustainable solutions that increase the efficiency and safety of food production in an environmentally responsible way. ! Conclusion The use of feed enzymes and betaine throughout the pig and poultry industries is increasing as awareness of their benefits becomes more widespread. The *Andrea Barletta is Global Marketing Director for Danisco Animal Nutrition, a division of Danisco A/S (Denmark). Further details are available at www.danisco.com/animalnutrition. Reproduced from — Asian Meat: Processing and Marketing — July/August 2006