Three levels (0%, 1% and 2%) of an enriched
conjugated linoleic acid oil (CLA) were combined with two levels of
monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (low -19% average and high -39% average) for pig feeding. Composition,
weight losses,
lipid oxidation (
thiobarbituric acid test,
TBARs), change in the
fatty acid content of the
lipid fractions and sensory analysis of dry-cured loin as affected by dietary CLA, MUFA and CLA×MUFA interaction were studied. CLA and CLA×MUFA did not affect moisture and intramuscular fat content of dry-cured loin,
weight losses during the processing, changes in the content of most
fatty acids from
lipid fractions and sensory traits. CLA and MUFA supplementation led to lower
TBARs values (1.3mg MDA/kg sample for 0% CLA and 0.9mg MDA/kg sample for 2% CLA; 1.2mg MDA/kg sample for low MUFA diets and 0.9mg MDA/kg sample for high MUFA diets), the highest
TBARs values being detected for 0% CLA-low MUFA diets [1.5mg MDA/kg sample]. The combination of dietary CLA with different MUFA levels in pig diets did not affect most composition and quality traits of dry-cured loin. Dietary CLA and MUFA seemed to lead to lower
lipid oxidation in this product.