Browsing by Author "Celaya, Rafael"
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- Arthropod biodiversity associated to European sheep grazed pasturesPublication . Garcia, Rosa; Peric, Tanja; Cadavez, Vasco; Ko, Nathanael; Cerqueira, Joaquim; Stanganello, R. Pietro; Fernandes, E.; Celaya, Rafael; Gonzales-Barron, Ursula; Baratta, MarioWe analysed the biodiversity of foliage arthropods in nine sheep grazed pasturelands in five European countries. During the maximum flowering period in 2018, entomofauna was collected in 4-6 areas within each pasture, performing 6 transects/area and 25 sweeps per transect. Multivariate analyses tested the differences in total arthropod community composition among degrees of intensification, bioregions and types of pastures. A total of 51,474 arthropods from 3 classes, 17 orders and 95 taxonomical groups were recorded. Univariate analyses revealed that total arthropod abundance was higher in extensive than in intensive systems (P<0.01). It also differed between bioregions (higher in Alpine than in Continental, P<0.05) and between types of pastures (higher in mountain than in lowland pastures where animals are supplemented, P<0.05). Total taxa richness was not influenced by any of the three factors. However, multivariate analyses indicated that community composition differed among intensive and extensive systems, bioregions and types of pastures (P<0.001). The greatest differences occurred between Alpine and Mediterranean (P<0.001), and Mediterranean and Continental pastures (P<0.05), as well as between lowland seminatural and improved pastures (P<0.05), and seminatural and mountain pastures (P<0.001). These results reveal the complex and varied communities associated to the diverse sheep systems and valorise the role of the mo
- Biodiversidad asociada a los sistemas de producción ovina en PortugalPublication . Fernandes, E.; Cadavez, Vasco; Celaya, Rafael; Gonzales-Barron, Ursula; Cerqueira, Joaquim; Rosa-García, R.Los consumidores demandan cada vez más alimentos asociados a sistemas productivos sostenibles que contribuyan a la conservación de la biodiversidad.
- Microbial deterioration of lamb meat from European local breeds as affected by its intrinsic propertiesPublication . Gonzales-Barron, Ursula; Coelho-Fernandes, Sara; Rodrigues, Gisela; Choupina, Altino; Bermúdez Piedra, Roberto; Osoro, Koldo; Celaya, Rafael; García, Rocío R.; Peric, Tanja; Bianco, Silvia del; Piasentier, Edi; Chiesa, Francesco; Brugiapaglia, Alberto; Battaglini, Luca; Baratta, Mario; Bodas, Raúl; Lorenzo Rodriguez, Jose Manuel; Cadavez, VascoAlthough sheep meat has a small share of 1.5 % of the total meat production in the EU, sheep farming is of great importance to rural development and the environment. Enhancing the quality of lamb meat of local breeds is essential to ensure both profitability for sheep producers and the conservation of endangered breeds. This study aimed to (i) characterise the evolution of spoilage microorganisms in refrigerated vacuum-packed lamb meat from a total of 10 farms housing 8 local breeds of Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Slovenian origin raised in intensive, extensive or semi-extensive regime; and (ii) elucidate how intrinsic properties of meat can affect its microbial spoilage. Cold carcass weight (CCW), ultimate pH (pH24) and proximate analysis were quantified on carcass/meat from each of the 285 animals raised and slaughtered for this purpose; while mesophiles, lactic acid bacteria, Pseudomonas spp. and psychrotrophic bacteria were enumerated during 15-day storage at 4 °C. Substantial variability in all attributes were found between the ten farms. CCW of intensively-raised lambs (21.4 kg; 95 % CI: 20.6–22.1 kg) were higher (p lt 0.05) than the ones in semi-extensive regime (14.9 kg; 95 % CI: 14.4–15.4 kg), and in turn these were heavier (p lt 0.05) than the extensively raised lambs (12.4 kg; 95 % CI: 12.0–12.7). Mean contents of protein (76.5–87.4% db), fat (3.78–13.1% db) and ashes (4.62–5.65% db) in lamb meat were highly dependent on the farm. Although meat from some farms was associated to higher microbial levels, in general, microbial growth was found to be modulated by intrinsic properties of meat. Higher pH24 (p lt 0.05), moisture (p lt 0.05), protein content (p lt 0.05) and ashes content (p lt 0.01) accelerated spoilage rate; whereas meat from heavier carcasses (p lt 0.001) and of higher fat content (p lt 0.01) presented slower growth of spoilage bacteria. In order to improve the microbial quality of lamb meat, animal handling must be enhanced to minimise pre-slaughter stress; slaughtering practices and hygiene must be improved; and a carcass classification system could be adopted towards the selection of fatter animals and chilled carcasses of optimal pH24.
- Quality attributes of lamb meat from European breeds: Effects of intrinsic properties and storagePublication . Gonzales-Barron, Ursula; Rodrigues, Gisela; Piedra, Roberto Bermúdez; Coelho-Fernandes, Sara; Osoro, Koldo; Celaya, Rafael; Maurício, Raimundo Serrão; Pires, Jaime; Tolsdorf, Anna; Geß, Andreas; Chiesa, Francesco; Pateiro, Mirian; Brugiapaglia, Alberto; Bodas, Raúl; Baratta, Mario; Lorenzo Rodriguez, Jose Manuel; Cadavez, VascoThe sustainability of the European sheep farming sector can be ensured through the high and consistent quality of products, although the concept of meat quality, being multifaceted, is challenging to keep up by farmers and producers. The objectives of this study were (i) to evaluate quality attributes (CIE L*, a*, b*, lipid oxidation, cooking loss and Warner-Bratzler texture test) of lamb meat during cold storage originating from eight European breeds raised under their normal production systems (n = 292 lambs); and (ii) to elucidate the influence of storage and intrinsic properties (cold carcass weight [CCW], ultimate pH [pH24], water activity [aw], and proximate composition) on the aforementioned quality attributes measured on the 3rd, 9th and 15th day post slaughter. All meat quality properties displayed a high variability due to the breed × production systems, although, as a whole, L*, a*, b*, TBARs and cooking loss increased during storage (P lt 0.001), whereas the tenderisation process was of non-linear decay nature (P = 0.001). While production system – taken across breeds – was not found to affect meat cooking losses, it heavily influenced CCW, producing intensive systems heavier (P lt 0.001) carcasses (21.4 kg) than those raised in semi-extensive (14.9 kg) and extensive systems (13.8 kg). On the 15th day of storage, TBARs from intensive systems was significantly (P lt 0.001) higher than those of extensively raised lambs (0.839 mg MDA/kg vs. 0.299 mg MDA/kg, respectively). Although the extensive and semi-extensive systems initially produced less tender meat (P lt 0.05) than intensive systems, on the 15th day of storage, meat from extensive (23.4 N/cm2) and semi-extensive systems (24.4 N/cm2) presented as good tenderness quality (P lt 0.10) as that of the intensive systems (22.1 N/cm2). Within breed × production systems, higher CCW or intramuscular fat was associated to darker meat (P lt 0.001 and P = 0.014), higher redness (P lt 0.001 for both), greater lipid oxidation (P = 0.016 and P lt 0.001), and lower slope (P = 0.014 and P = 0.004) and force (P = 0.027 and P = 0.001). The only intrinsic property that heavily affected most of the quality attributes was ash content, since meat of higher ash content presented higher luminosity (P = 0.008), and lower redness (P lt 0.001), yellowness (P lt 0.001), TBARS (P lt 0.001), cooking loss (P = 0.002) and tenderness (P lt 0.001). The elucidation of the impact of intrinsic properties on the lamb meat quality attributes during storage can help breeders and producers modify current flock management, feeding strategies and pre-slaughter and slaughter practices towards quality improvement or meeting particular consumers’ demands.