Effect of a linseed diet on lipid composition, lipid peroxidation and consumer evaluation of French fresh and cooked pork meats

Twenty castrated pigs [(Large-White × Landrace) × (Pietrain)] (52.9 ± 5.1 kg initial body weight) were fed a control or a linseed diet containing 4.2% of extruded linseed. Animals were slaughtered at 106.6 ± 3.7 kg live weight. There was no effect of diet on pig performance. Feeding the linseed diet increased the contents of n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in chops (raw and cooked), chitterlings sausages, country style pâté, garlic sausages, liver pâté, and smoked belly. However, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) level was not affected by the linseed diet. The linseed diet produced a robust decrease in the n−6/n−3 and linoleic acid (LA)/α-linolenic acid (ALA) ratios (<4). Feeding pigs with a high n−3 PUFA diet led to a decrease in the oxidative stability of chops, in contrast to smoked bellies for which thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) values were not affected by the diet. However, there was no deleterious effect on consumer overall appreciation of the meat.