Quality Based Pork Grading System Would Benefit Canada's Market

Canada Pork International (CPI) says creation of a pork quality based grading system, modeled after what already exists in the beef industry, will ensure the right product is selected for right market and give Canadian pork an edge with international buyers.

 

Canada is a leader in the export pork world, accounting for about 17 percent of all global pork exports. In partnership with Swine Innovation Porc, CPI is working on the development of new tools designed to improve Canada's competitiveness in the global pork market.

 

Michael Young, Vice President Technical Programs and Marketing Services with CPI, recalls 2012 saw the creation of a Canadian Pork Quality Standard, which includes standards for meat color, marbling ratios and fat color and the next step will be to develop a quality based grading system that would reduce inconsistencies in quality selection and move the right product into the right market.

 

“Fundamentally what we're seeing is the segments now are becoming a little more pronounced”, stated Young. “Further processors want lean products that don't have as much marbling so to speak. Retailers would like something that has a little more marbling so that there's more flavor and the food service operators, of course, they would like more heavily marbled products because that's where the flavor is.

 

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.