Characterization of green hams from Iberian pigs by fast analysis of subcutaneous fat

Melting point, slip point, iodine value (fast analyses) and percentage contents of fatty acids were determined in subcutaneous fat of hams from Iberian pigs in order to study the possibilities of characterizing the type of pig feeding and the relationships between the results of fast analysis and fatty acid contents. Both types of analyses showed important differences between samples from pigs fed on acorn and samples from pigs fed on mixed feeds. When a combination of feeding materials (acorn and mixed feeds) was used, the analyses gave intermediate results, closer to those obtained with mixed feeds only. On the other hand, generally high simple and multiple correlation coefficients (greater than 0·85) were obtained between fast analyses and fatty acid contents, which allows accurate predictions using regression and canonical correlation analyses.