Incidence of Sex Odor in Boars, Sows, Barrows and Gilts

Abstract

The incidence of sex odor in pork was studied using fat samples taken from the flank area or ham facing of 79 boars, 78 sows, 86 barrows and 96 gilts. Results indicate that the incidence of “sex odor” is largely dependent upon the sex of the animal. Boars were found to have 64% incidence, which is significantly higher than any other sex group tested. No significant differences could be found between the percent incidence in sows, barrows and gilts, which were found to have approximately 1%, 5% and 5% incidence, respectively. Another phase of this study indicated that boar meat possessing a strong sex odor could be incorporated into some of the more highly spiced comminuted meats without detection. This was found to be successful only in meats that are consumed without heating or in those products containing ingredients such as liver. Apparently in the latter case, the strong odor of the liver masked the sex odor. Copyright © 1963. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1963 by American Society of Animal Science