Research is carried out in many European countries into solutions to the bottlenecks facing stopping castration. Denmark is also examining possible preventative measures to reduce the risk of boar taint.
NO-CAST project
Among other things, the NO-CAST project (http://www.icrofs.org/Pages/Research/organicrdd_nocast.html) studies the influence of feed composition on the main substances that cause boar taint skatole and androstenone. Chicory root contains inulin that influences skatole levels. Adding 15% chicory root to feed during the last week before slaughter resulted in a 67% decrease in skatole in back fat. A follow-up experiment is currently studying what the effect of this is on the percentage of carcasses eliminated due to boar taint.
Breeding to combat boar taint
Breeders organisation DanAvl has booked good results with breeding to combat boar taint. It thereby uses human nose assessment. The Danish version of the human-nose score is a sensory test for checking back fat for boar taint. The method is an official part of the classification test. There are three possible human-nose scores: 0 = no boar taint, 1 = less boar taint and 2 = more boar taint. Carcasses are eliminated if they score a 2. A preliminary estimate of the hereditary scale of the human-nose score is 13%, across all breeds. This means that selection can be based on the results of assessment by sensitive noses. http://nl.danavl.com/~/media/danbred-nl/22157_DanAvl_profil_GLOBAL_220x290mm_NL_emag_webs.ashx