Fatty acid composition of subcutaneous adipose tissue of raw and seasoned ham in three PDO dry-cured ham typologies

The quality and quantity of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT)of pig thighs own a great importance for the needs of processingindustry. The aim of this research was to study the fatty acidcomposition of SAT of fresh thighs, destined for the productionof three different typologies of PDO dry-cured hams according tothe methods of Parma (PP), San Daniele (PSD) e Toscano (PT),obtained from animals reared in the same farm, and to verify, at the end of seasoning period (12 months), the effect of the typeof production. Forty-eight thighs coming from 24 ItalianLandrace x Large White heavy pigs (carcass weight 130.3±11.5kg) slaughtered in three different days, were sent, left and rightin turn, to the three processing plants. Iodine value and fatty acidcomposition were measured on samples of fresh (n=48) and seasoned(16 PP, and 15 each PSD and PT) SAT. Data were subjectedto ANOVA by SPSS statistical package using the typologies of productionas fixed effect. The average fatty acid composition of rawham SAT showed high levels of MUFA (49.5%, mainly C18:1) andSFA (39.8%, mainly C16:0 and C18:0), and lower PUFA (10.7%,mainly C18:2) and, as expected, no difference was detectedbetween the three typologies of productive destination. On thewhole, during the seasoning period SAT showed an increase ofMUFA (49.5 vs 53.0% for fresh and seasoned, respectively) and adecrease of PUFA (10.7 vs 8.2%). The differences among thethree seasoned ham types, although statistically significant forsome fatty acids, point out that, starting from homogeneous rawmatter, the methods used by productive plants of the three studiedPDO products do not considerably affect the final characteristicsof the lipids of the obtained dry-cured hams.