Influenceofdietaryfat,onfattyacidcompositionandsensory propertiesofdry-curedParmaham G. Pastorelli a ,S.Magni a ,R.Rossi a ,E.Pagliarini b ,P.Baldini c ,P.Dirinck d , F.VanOpstaele e ,C.Corino a, * a Department of Veterinary Science and Technologies for Food Safety, University of Milan, Via Celoria 10, I-20133 Milano, Italy b Department of Food Science and Microbiology, DISTAM, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, I-20133 Milano, Italy c Stazione Sperimentale per l’Industria delle Conserve Alimentari, V.le Tanara 31/a, 43100 Parma, Italy d Chemical Biochemical Research Centre, Catholic Technical University Sint-Lieven, Gebr. Desmetstraat 1, 9000 Gent, Belgium e KaHo St.-Lieven, Laboratory of Enzyme and Brewing Technology, Gebroeders Desmetstraat 1, 9000 Gent, Belgium Received 29 April 2002; accepted 11 September 2002 Abstract Afeedingtrialwith27pigswasperformedinordertoestimatetheeffectofdifferentdietaryfatsonthefattyacidcomposition, flavourandsensorypropertiesofdry-curedParmahams,ripenedfor16months.Theanimalsreceivedapelleteddietsupplemented with different fat sources: tallow (TA), corn oil (CO), and rapeseed oil (RO). The sensory quality of the hams was evaluated by means of sensory analyses and by instrumental procedures such as gas chromatography–mass spectrometry of the volatile aroma compounds. A treatment effect was detected for linolenic acid in RO vs. CO and TA hams (P < 0.01) and for MUFA content (P < 0.01) that was higher in RO and TA compared with CO. The results of panel test showed a significant difference (P < 0.05) between TA vs. CO and RO hams. Volatile compounds showed limited differences even if in CO group the amount of singular compoundishigherthanTAandRO. # 2003ElsevierScienceLtd.Allrightsreserved. Keywords: Parmaham;Dietaryfats;Fattyacids;Aromacomposition;Sensoryanalyses 1. Introduction The influence of dietary fat composition on the fatty acid pattern of pig fat is well known as observed by severalauthors(Cook,Scott,Faichney,&Davies,1972; Ellis & Isbell, 1926; Hertzman, Goransson, & Ruderus, 1988; Mourot, Chauvel, Le Denmat, Mounier, & Pei- niau, 1991; Warnants, Van Oeckel, & Boucque`, 1999; Wood, 1984). Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)arereadilyincorporatedintoporkfat,whereas dietary monounsaturated (MUFA) and saturated fatty acids(SFA)haveaweakerinfluenceonfatcomposition (Fontanillas, Barroeta, Baucells, & Guardiola, 1998; Romans,Johnson,Wulf,Libal,&Costello,1995). VanOeckel,Casteels,Warnants,andBoucque` (1997), Van Oeckel, Casteels, Warnants, Van Damme, and Boucque` (1996), Warnants, Van Oeckel, and Boucque` (1996) found a linear relationship between the feed PUFAcontentandthePUFAcontentofintramuscular fat(IMF)andbackfat.However,differentefficienciesof PUFA incorporation in the two pig tissues were obtained. An increase of the PUFA content in pork fat at the expense of SFA would better meet the requirements of consumers health. For human nutrition, PUFA are desirable because of their role in the prevention of car- diovascular disease (Kris-Etherton & Yu, 1997; War- nants et al., 1999). However, because of their susceptibility to lipid oxidation the incorporation of PUFA can have detrimental effects on the sensory and technologicalqualityandacceptabilityofmeatproducts (Houben & Krol, 1980; Stiebing, Ku¨hne, & Ro¨del, 1993;Warnants,VanOeckel,&Boucque`,1998). Lipid oxidation is one of the primary mechanisms of quality deterioration during meat storage (Monahan et al.,1990)andformationofvolatilesecondaryoxidation 0309-1740/03/$ - see front matter # 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0309-1740(02)00250-4 Meat Science 65 (2003) 571–580 www.elsevier.com/locate/meatsci * Corresponding author. Tel.: +39-02-50317905; fax +39-02- 50317898. E-mail address: carlo.corino@unimi.it (C. Corino).