The accuracy of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), weight, and P2 back fat to predict half-carcass and primal-cut composition in pigs within and across research experiments

Abstract

A Hologic QDR4500A dual energy X-ray absorptiometer (DXA) was used to measure body composition in 199 half-carcasses ranging from 15 to 48 kg. Half-carcasses were from animals of mixed sex and of either Large White x Landrace or Large White x Landrace x Duroc descent. Half-carcasses were selected from 5 different experiments to evaluate DXA accuracy within and across experiments. Values determined by DXA including total tissue mass, fat tissue mass, lean tissue mass, and bone mineral content, for the half-carcass and the shoulder, loin, belly, and ham primal cuts were evaluated by comparison with manually dissected composition. Relationships between manually dissected values and measurements..