Effects of flavour variety in piglets

The organoleptic properties of feed differ little between and within production periods, which can generate problems of sensory-specific satiety (SSS). SSS would be expressed as a decrease in the pleasantness of taste and a reduction in consumption relative other foods that differ in one or more sensory properties even if they have the same nutritional composition. The objective of the present study (Huenel 2023) was to evaluate the short-term effect of specific-sensory satiety on the consumption of flavoured feed in nursery pigs. A total of 32 mix sexed piglets with initial body weight (BW) of 13.2 1.2 Kg were used for 3 days. The animals were allocated in pairs to 16 nursery pens maintaining similar weights between pens (p>0.05). Each pen had one feeder with three feeding spaces and an individual water supply. The animals were exposed in the morning for 90 min to three pan-feeders with commercial feed that contained: (1) different flavours (VAR); (2) the same flavour (MON); or (3) a mixture of the three flavours in each feeder (MIX). All animals experienced each of the three experimental conditions in a 3×3 Latin square design. Flavour added were lemon, coffee and cherry. Feed intake and consumption patterns were analysed with ANOVA by using mixed linear models with the MIXED procedure of statistical package SAS considering the effect of the diet (MON, VAR or MIX) and the experimental day. No intake differences were observed in nursery pigs according to the experimental day or diet. However, a significant interaction between the experimental day and diet was found, where the VAR diet showed the lowest intake on day one and the highest intake on day 2 and 3 compared to the other diets. It was observed that pigs presented an improve in feed intake when different flavoured feeds are delivered simultaneously. The results of this study suggest that sensory varied diets might be used as a strategy to reduce SSS (sensory-specific satiety) in nursery pigs in conventional industry.

Mónica Puyalto