Flutterby™! : Alcohol & meat quality

Getting animals drunk is an economical way to reduce their stress, improve meat quality

Researchers at the University of Tokyo fed six pigs a standard diet supplemented with shochu distillation remnants, the dried mixture of barley, mold and yeast left over after distilling out the shochu. Pigs fed shochu remnants from age 3 to 6 months had higher amounts of antibodies called IgA in their saliva, indicating that shochu remnants kept the pigs healthier than the standard diet. Additionally, pigs fed shochu remnants had lower stress levels than pigs fed the normal diet supplemented with fresh barley, as measured by the amount of cortisol, a common stress hormone, in their saliva.

Distillation remnants of shochu, a traditional Japanese liquor, improve pork meat quality by reducing stress https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126488