Olive Cake in Pigs Feeding: Effects on Growth Performance, Carcass Quality and Gas Emission from Slurry

Abstract

The use of agro-industrial by-products in animal feed can be economically and environmentally beneficial to the livestock sector, increasing its profitability and sustainability1. In the light of the scarcity of resources and the increasing demand for meat products worldwide, there is a need to search for alternative raw materials different from cereals and soybean meal in animal feed. Olive cake (OC) is one of the most important agro-industrial by-product in the Mediterranean area. With variable oil content, its digestible energy can be acceptable in growing pigs and its use is expected to be beneficial in terms of carcass and meat quality. However, its fiber content is high and this might alter nutrient digestibility, slurry composition and gas emission2. In this context, an experiment was conducted to determine the effects of including a partially defatted olive cake (PDOC, about 10% ether extract) in diets, focusing on its effects on growth performance, carcass quality and gas emission from the slurry.