Growth performance, carcass quality, fresh belly characteristics, and commercial bacon slicing yields of growing-finishing pigs fed a subtherapeutic dose of an antibiotic, a natural antimicrobial, or not fed an antibiotic or antimicrobial

The objective was to compare growth performance, belly characteristics, and bacon slicing yields of growing finishing pigs fed a subtherapeutic dose of an antibiotic, a natural antimicrobial, or a diet containing no antibiotics or antimicrobials. Barrows and gilts (96 each, initial BW: 27.52 +/- 3.98 kg) were housed in 48 pens (8 replications per treatment) in a 2 x 3 factorial randomized complete block design. Pens were assigned 1 of 3 diets: antibiotic free, oregano or tylosin phosphate. Pigs were slaughtered at an average BW of 127.31 +/- 10.18 kg. There were no differences among dietary treatments for growth performance (P >= 0.06), carcass cutability (P >= 0.42), loin quality (P >= 0.28), fresh belly dimensional characteristics (P >= 0.11), IV (P >= 0.87) or bacon processing characteristics (P >= 0.07 ). Given the lack of differences in meat quality from pigs fed diets without antibiotics, the implementation of VFD in the United States should not result in changes in pork quality.