Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality of Conventionally and Organically Reared Suckling Dairy Goat Kids of the Payoya Breed

Abstract

The viability of conventional goat farms, such as the native Payoya dairy goat, could be improved by switching to organic production, but product quality needs to be ensured. The present work assesses the carcass and meat quality of Payoya kids raised under conventional and organic grazing-based systems. Twenty-four kids (12 males, 12 females) were selected from each system (n = 48). The slaughter live weight (8.52 vs. 8.28 kg), cold carcass weight (4.44 vs. 4.29 kg) and farm dressing percentage (51.7 vs. 50%) of the conventionally raised kids were significantly higher than those of the organic kids. The shoulder (first category) (21.7 vs. 22.3%) and long leg (32 vs. 32.9%) percentages were lower in the conventional than in the organic kids. The percentage contribution of the intermuscular fat (10.70 vs. 8.11%) to the shoulder weight was greater in the conventional kids, while the percentages of muscle (59.7 vs. 57.2%) and bone (24.7 vs. 22.8%) were higher in the organic kids. For the chemical composition, there were only differences between the two sexes in the percentage of fat (6.64 and 7.99% on dry matter, for male and female, respectively). For rheological variables, only differences were found in the water holding capacity (% water expelled), the meat of the organic females had a higher value (17%) than that of the conventional females (14%). For the meat colour, the conventional male kids returned the highest values for C* and Hº (14.32 and 64.34, respectively). Farms following conventional grazing-based management could easily switch to organic production. Most of the meat and carcass quality variables studied were very similar across the systems.

Using dried orange pulp in the diet of dairy goats: effects on milk yield and composition and blood parameters of dams and growth performance and carcass quality of kids

“…The carcasses were kept in a chilling room at 4°C for 24 h. After chilling, the cold carcass weight was recorded. The carcass dressing percentage, chilling losses, carcass linear measurements and the indices from these carcass conformation measurements were calculated as described in Guzmán et al (2019). After chilling, the carcasses were split down the dorsal midline, and then the left half of each carcass was removed, weighed and transported under refrigeration to the University of Huelva.…”

“…The prime cuts were weighed and grouped into three categories: extra (long leg and ribs), first (shoulder) and second (neck and flank). Shoulder tissue composition was evaluated according to Guzmán et al (2019). The muscle/bone and muscle/fat indices were calculated.…”

“…In the European Union, Spain has the second highest number of goats (3.1 million head), with Andalusia (in southern Spain) being the region with the largest herd (FAO, 2017). Although most of the goats in Spain are dairy breeds, such as Payoya, goat farms produce suckling kids (the preferred goat carcass) which are exclusively fed with milk from their mothers for a month until they are slaughtered at live weight (LW) of 8 to 10 kg (Guzmán et al, 2019). To achieve greater milk yields, farmers have increased the supply of concentrates fed to goats, thus reducing or even eliminating pasture as a feed source.…”

The Use of Concentrates Rich in Orange By-Products in Goat Feed and Its Effects on Physico-Chemical, Textural, Fatty Acids, Volatile Compounds and Sensory Characteristics of the Meat of Suckling Kids

“…After removing the rib cut, the longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle was extracted and two portions of muscle (5 g each) were used to determine the water-holding capacity (WHC) of meat according to Guzmán et al [14]. The WHC was expressed as the percentage of expelled juice after compression.…”

“…The cooking loss was calculated as the difference between the weight of the loin portion before packaging and its weight after cooking, expressed as a percentage [16]. The Cooking loss test samples were then used to determine the WBSF using a Stevens QTS 25 texture analyser equipped with a Warner-Brätzler device [14]. The slices were then cut into samples with a cross-section of 1 cm 2 parallel to the muscle fibres.…”