Purdue researchers study ways to reduce fat in pork

By Nicole Arias
Staff Writer

Students on a budget might be able to buy more pork products at a cheaper price thanks to a group of Purdue researchers.

The feed additive that accomplishes this is a drug named Paylean, which increases lean muscle gain on a pig by 34 percent while reducing the amount of fat.

After almost 10 years, two campus departments are again researching ways to produce a leaner pig to benefit farmers the most.

After FDA approved the use of Paylean in December, professor Allan Schinckel and assistant professor Brian Richert from the department of animal sciences, began collaborating with professors Paul Preckel and Ken Foster from the department of agricultural economics.

In 1992, this group of professors published papers of their research of the optimum use of Paylean for pigs, but they said further research needs to be done.

"The pig industry has changed in the last 10 years. Now more than changing the models, we are validating and refining them," Foster said. "The decision is not 'if or if not to use Paylean' anymore. It's how much and how long to use it. Farmers are penalized if their pigs are too big or small."

Together the professors are working to create a swine growth model.

"We (Preckel and Foster) are taking information developed by scientists (Schinckel and Richert) and are putting it in an economic context to figure out the best way to manage the use of Paylean," said Preckel. "By 'best way' I mean how to get the greatest profits for farmers."

The goal is to figure out the optimal use of Paylean by looking at feed efficiency, growth, lean percentage and pork and fat quality.

"Paylean will tighten the distribution of the growth rate," Foster said. "Paylean creates substantial changes in the formula in terms of what is best to the pigs and at what age to send them to market."

The plan is to make all research available to commercial producers.

One of the reasons the professors are conducting new research is because pigs are now more sensitive to lower levels of Paylean

They are now measuring the growth of different types of pigs that are given different doses of Paylean.

This research is significant to some farmers because, although Paylean pigs can produce 11 to 12 ounce pork chops, pork processors often want specific requirements and consumers may not have a demand for a product that size, said Schinckel.

He said the ideal situation would be for farmers to use Paylean among other techniques to produce lean pork of good quality at a moderate size.

"When Paylean is used efficiently, it can decrease the price of pork," Schinckel said

Additionally, Paylean could contribute to the establishment of a new equilibrium by increasing the quantity of pork, he said.

Purdue researchers study ways to reduce fat in pork

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