Holistic Production to Reduce the Ecological Footprint of Meat

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Quality attributes of lamb meat from European breeds: Effects of intrinsic properties and storage

Publication . 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, Vasco

The 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.

2021Journal article

Open access

Microbial deterioration of lamb meat from European local breeds as affected by its intrinsic properties

Publication . 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, Vasco

Although 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.

2021Journal article

Open access

Fatty acid composition of lamb meat from Italian and German local breeds

Publication . Gonzales-Barron, Ursula; Popova, Teodora; Bermúdez Piedra, Roberto; Tolsdorf, Anna; Geß, Andreas; Pires, Jaime; Domínguez, Rubén; Chiesa, Francesco; Brugiapaglia, Alberto; Viola, Irene; Battaglini, Luca; Baratta, Mario; Lorenzo Rodriguez, Jose Manuel; Cadavez, Vasco

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the quality characteristics, chemical composition and lipid profile of lamb meat from Italian (Biellese and Sambucana) and German (Texel-Merino-Blackhead-Charollais [TMBC]) breeds reared in extensive and semi-extensive production systems. Meat samples from 89 animals were analysed. The meat of the lambs from semi-intensively reared Biellese, and extensively reared Sambucana and TMBC breeds produced lean meat, with slightly higher intramuscular fat content in TMBC. The latter also produced meat of darker colour (P lt 0.05) and higher protein content (P lt 0.05). The meat of Sambucana lambs presented the lowest total cholesterol content (P lt 0.05). The fatty acid profile of the meat showed a clear advantage of both extensively reared breeds, which had substantially lower proportion of saturated but higher of polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly n-3 (P lt 0.05). The beneficial effect of the extensive rearing conditions was associated with lower n-6/n3 ratio, and atherogenic and thrombogenic indices, thereby suggesting that production system can be used successfully to modify the fatty acid profile to achieve a positive effect for the human health.

2021Journal article

Open access