This study was conducted to evaluate the carcass and meat quality of Boer goats and unimproved indigenous goats of South Africa, under delayed chilling conditions. Ten goats per breed were used for the study. The goats were slaughtered according to standard abattoir procedures. The dressed carcasses were held at 10-15 °C for 6 hours before chilling at 4 °C until 24 hours (delayed chilling). The pH/temperature values, instrumental colour (CIE L*, a*, b*, chroma and hue angle), surface myoglobin pigments (deoxyglobin, oxyglobin and metmyoglobin), water-holding capacity (WHC), thawing loss, cooking loss, sarcomere length, and Warner Bratzler shear force (WBSF) values were evaluated on samples of the m. longissimus dorsi (LD) and the m. semimembranosus (SM). Carcasses of Boer goats were heavier and had higher chilling loss than those of indigenous goats. There were no breed differences in dressing percentages, pH/temperature values or meat quality characteristics. Overall, the mean ultimate pH values (5.75-5.80), were marginally higher than the recommended pH for desirable eating quality. However, the mean L* (36.3-40.2), a* (18.0-18.8), .8%) values were within the range that is acceptable for normal meat. On average, LD samples were tender (WBSF values of 4.43 ± 0.40 kg), but SM samples were marginally tough (WBSF values of 8.45 ± 0.54 kg). This study shows that delayed chilling could be a useful strategy in improving the colour and tenderness of goat meat.

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There is an increased interest in the use of medicinal plants as alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters and as agents for methane production mitigation. This study investigated the effects of Azadirachta indica and Moringa oleifera feed additives on the carcass and meat quality of lambs. Forty South African Mutton Merino lambs, weighing between 29 and 43 kg, were randomly assigned to four treatment groups (n = 10 lambs/treatment) and fed a basal total mixed ration (TMR) containing soybean meal (17%), yellow maize (28%), Alfalfa hay (20%), Eragrostis curvula hay (22.2%), molasses (6.0%), wheat offal (5%), urea (0.8%) and vitamin premix (0.5%) on a DM basis. The dietary treatments: TMR diet (control); TMR diet with A. indica leaf extract (A. indica leaf extract at a dosage of 50 mg per kg of feed: neem); TMR diet with M. oleifera leaf extract (M. oleifera leaf extract at a dosage of 50 mg per kg DM of feed: moringa); TMR diet with monensin (at a dosage of 50 mg monensin sodium per kg of feed: positive control). After an adaptation period of 10 days to the experimental conditions, the lambs from all treatment groups were fed ad libitum with the experimental diets. The lambs were slaughtered at a live weight of 60–65 kg after a 23 week trial period. The plant extract dietary additives had no significant effects on the carcass characteristics of the lambs. In comparison to monensin, supplementing with moringa leaf extracts resulted in a higher proportion of C18:1n9c (45.0% ± 0.57 vs. 40.5% ± 0.80; p < 0.05), total MUFAs (47.3% ± 0.66 vs. 42.6% ± 0.87; p < 0.05), and UFA:SFA ratio (1.01 ± 0.03 vs. 0.85 ± 0.03; p < 0.05), which may be beneficial for human health. Our results suggest that natural feed additives, such as A. indica and M. oleifera leaf extracts, can be included in lamb diets without compromising meat fatty acid composition. The negative economic impacts of such technologies on animal production and farm profitability should not be expected.

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