Basic carcass characteristics, the quality traits of meat and internal organs from 10 fallow deer bucks and 10 does aged from 31 to 32 months were investigated. no sex effects on the bled body weight, meat yield and carcass composition were found. A significantly higher weight of mesenteric and omental fat (by 0.44 kg) was found for does. The combined share of muscle and fat in the carcass parts ranged from 77.9 to 78.5%, and the share of bones from 21.5 to 22.1%. no sex effects were found for the ph and water holding capacity measurements. Venison from males was characterized by a significantly higher thermal drip value (P=0.043) and higher L* (P=0.026), a* (P=0.010) and b* (P=0.036) values compared to does. The extracted fat content was significantly higher for females compared to males (P=0.009). The chemical analysis of deer edible by-products indicated the highest level of protein for the liver (17%), and the highest level of dry matter and fat for the tongue (33-34% and 15-18%, respectively).

A total of 12 farmed fallow deer bucks and 12 does aged 31-32 months were included in a study on the effect of storage in vacuum packaging on the functionality of venison of the Semimembranosus muscle. All the analyzed meat quality traits were not affected by sex. The storage of meat in vacuum led to: an increase of pH (by 0.13 units; P = 0.001), L* (by 1.85 units; P = 0.002), a* (by 1.15 units; P = 0.013) and chroma (by 1.16 units; P = 0.016), a decrease of free water (by 6.62 percentage points (p.p.); P = 0.001) and water-holding capacity (cm ) (by 29.61%; P = 0.001), and the increase of dry matter content (by 0.67 p.p.; P = 0.001). The results indicate that the chilled storage of venison caused the stabilization of pH and color, improvement of water-holding capacity, with no negative effect on the proximate chemical composition. The quality of deer meat obtained from does and bucks was similar.

The quality of three muscles (supraspinatus, longissimus, semimembranosus) were studied in a group of 12 farmed fallow deer bucks (Dama dama) aged 28 months. The aim was to compare the selected quality traits of these muscles and to assess the extent to which these traits change after 14 days of being stored in vacuum packaging. Both the pH and the temperature were significantly affected by the muscle (P < 0.0001) and the time of storage (P < 0.0001). The supraspinatus muscle had the highest initial and final pH (pH0.5 h = 6.95; pH15d = 5.93), while m. semimembranosus showed the greatest drop in temperature (by 37.5°C) 24 h postmortem. The colour parameters differed among muscles. Only lightness (L*) was not influenced by the duration of storage (P = 0.081). The 14-day storage in a vacuum bag caused a decrease in the drip loss (P = 0.002), free water (%; P = 0.001), free water (cm2; P < 0.0001) and a cooking loss (P = 0.050). The duration of time in storage caused an increase in the dry-matter (P = 0.049) and crude-protein (P = 0.044) contents and a decrease of the water to protein ratio (W : CP; P = 0.014). There was a significant effect of muscle on the dry-matter (P < 0.0001) and crude-protein (P < 0.001) contents and W : CP (P < 0.0001). The highest contents of dry matter (P ≤ 0.01) and crude protein (P ≤ 0.01) were found in m. longissimus. The highest W : CP was observed in m. supraspinatus (W : CP24 h = 4.02; W/CP15d = 3.92). The results indicated a different technological quality of the analysed muscles, and, thus, a need to further explore the background of these differences in the early postmortem period and after meat maturation.

The analyzed material included 40 hybrid rabbits slaughtered at the age of 90 days. The control group was transported directly after weaning, while the transport group was transported directly prior to slaughter. The experiment was designed to assess the transport stress, carcass and meat quality implications, taking into account the muscle type and sex. The transported animals were characterized by a higher level of blood cortisol, glucose and triglycerides (P < 0.0001), and a lower level of insulin (P < 0.0001) compared to the control group. In the presented study the time post-mortem affected the pH decline in both rabbit groups (P < 0.0001). The lightness, redness and yellowness of rabbit meat were affected by the transport (P < 0.0001, P = 0.001 and P < 0.0001). The percentage of free water and its share in the total water was higher for the non-transported rabbits compared to the transported ones (P < 0.0001). Moreover, the meat from the control group was characterized by greater plasticity compared to the transport group (P = 0.003). The chemical composition of rabbit meat was not changed by the effect of transport (P = 0.643-0.979). To conclude, the quality traits of meat from the transported hybrid rabbits clearly indicated the development of dark firm and dry-like lower quality of meat.

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Fallow deer meat (venison) is a new product acquired from farm-raised and wild animals. Nowadays, people are more concerned about their health, and therefore, they search for high quality, “healthy” products. Farming of fallow deer is ecological and friendly to the environment. Animals are kept in pasture conditions which resemble their natural environment. Venison is considered healthy meat, low in fat and cholesterol, and high in protein. The aim of this review was to gather and discuss the available literature on factors influencing the quality of venison such as sex, age, slaughter method and housing system, feeding, hanging method, animal condition, muscle type, and ageing of meat, considering both farm-raised and wild fallow deer.

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