Microbial deterioration of lamb meat of portuguese origin as affected by its intrinsic properties

Cadavez, VascoGonzales-Barron, UrsulaFélix-Oliveira, DiogoCoelho-Fernandes, SaraRodrigues, Gisela2020-10-012020-10-012020Cadavez, Vasco; Gonzales-Barron, Ursula; Félix-Oliveira, Diogo; Coelho-Fernandes, Sara; Rodrigues, Gisela (2020). Microbial deterioration of lamb meat of portuguese origin as affected by its intrinsic properties. In 11th International Conference on Simulation and Modelling in the Food and Bio-Industry, FOODSIM 2020. p. 145-150. ISBN 978-949285913-6978-949285913-6http://hdl.handle.net/10198/22767In Portugal, sheep and goat meat production constitutes 2.8% of the total meat production, with a self-sufficiency of ~82%. The main autochthonous sheep breeds exploited for meat production are Churra-Galega-Bragançana (CGB) and Bordaleira-de-Entre-Douro-e-Minho (BEDM), whose quality must be optimised in order to ensure adequate income levels for sheep producers. The study aimed to characterise the evolution of spoilage microorganisms in refrigerated vacuum-packed (VP) lamb meat from BEDM and CGB breeds; and elucidate how intrinsic properties of meat can affect its microbial spoilage. Meat from BEDM breed presented higher (p<.0001) populations of mesophiles, lactic acid bacteria, Pseudomonas spp. and psychrotrophic bacteria, since its higher ultimate pH (means: 5.77 for BEDM vs. 5.58 for CGB) accelerated spoilage rate (p<.0001). While water activity and protein content were not found to modulate microbial deterioration (p>0.05), the growth of spoilage bacteria was found to be exacerbated by higher moisture (p<.0001) and higher ash content (p<0.001). By contrast, a higher fat content retarded (p<.0001) the growth of spoilage bacteria in VP lamb meat. In order to extend the shelf-life of Portuguese-origin lamb meat, animal handling must be enhanced to minimise pre-slaughter stress, and a carcass classification system should be adopted towards the selection of fatter animals and chilled carcasses of optimal ultimate pH.engSheepLocal breedsProximate compositionpHLactic acid bacteriaPseudomonasMicrobial deterioration of lamb meat of portuguese origin as affected by its intrinsic propertiesconference paper