Effect of slaughter age on meat quality of Chamarito lambs

Abstract

SummaryChamaritolamb was recognized as a quality brand in Spain in April 2010 and this meat is highly appreciated in the local market, but little is known about how a short fattening period may affect final product quality. Twenty lambs, ten from the Ternasco category and ten from the suckling lamb category, were slaughtered and their carcass characteristics compared. All animals were weighed at birth, weaning and before slaughter, and average daily gain was calculated. Cold carcasses were weighed and bruising score, carcass conformation and carcass fatness were noted. The left back of each carcass was separated for dissection. The meat pH, cooking and thawing losses, texture, colour and fatty acid composition were measured on M.longissimussamples. Production traits and meat quality variables were analysed fitting a one-way model with the fixed effect of mean lamb age at harvest. The conformation and degree of fatness of Ternasco-type lambs was not significantly different from suckling lambs but the pH values 24.00 hours post-mortem in muscle (pHult) of the former was slightly higher. The fatty acid profile of suckling lambs was more suitable for a healthy human diet.