Quality and safety of meat from wild boar hunted in Molise region

In recent decades, there has been a consistent increase in the population of wild boar in Italy and also in the Molise region, with a greater availability and consumption of their meat. The aim of the study was to evaluate pΗ, colour, total lipid, fatty acids composition and heavy metals content of wild boar meat of different estimated live weight (~50, 70 and 100 kg; n = 25, 24 and 18, respectively), sex and hunting area (A1: Bagnoli del Trigno- Poggio Sannita (IS); A2: Roccavivara-Civitacampomarano (CB)). The study was carried out on wild boars hunted between November 1st 2017 and January 31st 2018. At slaughter, Longissimus dorsi muscle was removed from carcases for the analyses. Meat quality data were analysed by GLM, live weight and sex were the main factors; heavy metals data were analysed considered also the hunting area factor. pH and colour were not affected by live weight and sex; however, meat from heavier boars (100 kg) was slightly darker than that of lighter ones (50 kg). Total lipid, total saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) were not affected by weight. Differently, lighter boars showed a higher content of total polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA, p<.05), n-6 (p<.05) and n-3 (70 kg: p<.01; 100 kg: p<.05) PUFA, and PUFA/SFA ratio (p<.01) compared to heavier classes. Lighter boars had a better atherogenic index compared to boars from intermediate weight class (70 kg). Compared to females, males had a higher (p<.05) n-3 PUFA content and a lower (p<.05) n-6/n-3 ratio. Weight, sex and hunting area did not affect cadmium (0.001 mg/kg), lead (0.011 – 0.026 mg/ kg), copper (0.696–1.151 mg/kg) and manganese (0.083 – 0.130 mg/kg) contents. Chromium was affected only by sex (males: 0.072 mg/kg; p<.05). Nickel content was higher (p<.01) in the heaviest boars (0.035 mg/kg) than the other weight classes (0.017 mg/kg). Wild boars hunted in the A2 area showed higher nickel concentrations (p<.01) than those hunted in the A1 area (0.026 vs. 0.018 mg/kg, respectively). Interactions (p<.01) were detected among all the three factors taken into consideration for nickel content. Sex did not affect nickel content. In conclusion, lighter boars showed a better meat quality from the nutritional point of view. In addition, the low content of heavy metals in the meat indicates a very low level of anthropogenic pollution of the areas under study, making wild boar meat safe from a health point of view.