CRITERIA OF BELLY BACON DESIRABILITY. I. FAT–LEAN RATIO OF THE PORK BELLY IN RELATION TO BACKFAT, CARCASS WEIGHT AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY

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Abstract
Belly composition in relation to specific gravity of the cured belly and weight and backfat measurements of the carcass was evaluated on a sample of 730 carcasses. Substantial sex differences were observed with boars (n = 109) having 4.5% less fat in the belly than gilts (n = 379) and gilts 2.7% less fat than castrates (n = 242). Percent fat of belly increased in a linear fashion with increasing backfat thickness with the change consistent for each sex across the carcass weight range (56–90 kg). In regression analysis of the total population, backfat explained 46.1% of the total variance in percent fat of the belly, weight after backfat 0.5% and specific gravity after weight 36.1%. Inclusion of sex in the regression equation increased the proportion of variance explained by 0.4% (from 82.7 to 83.1). Carcass weight, backfat thickness, and percent fat in the belly were directly related to belly weight expressed as a proportion of carcass weight and inversely related to percent curing shrink.

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