Impact of Measurement Errors on Predicting Pork Carcass Composition: Out of Sample Evaluation

Purdue University 2000 Swine Research Report. Prediction equations for estimating fat-free lean mass are widely used in the pork industry. The prediction of fat-free lean has two possible sources of error. The first is the level of measurement errors (or accuracy) of the carcass measurements used in the development of the prediction equations. The second is the level of carcass measurement errors in subsequent carcass data. Currently, two opinions exist as the most appropriate method to develop prediction equations. One opinion is that if the prediction equation is to be used in specific conditions (speed, accuracy, rate of errors, etc.), the prediction equation should be developed under similar conditions. The second opinion is that the prediction equations should always be developed from carcass measurements which are as accurate as possible. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of measurement errors in the development of prediction equations and in subsequent data utilizing the prediction equations.