Effect of cut type and post-mortem ageing on the technological quality, textural profile and sensory characteristics of horse meat

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of cut type and ageing period on the technological quality, colour, texture and sensory characteristics of horse meat. Nine different cuts: loin, shoulder chuck roll, shank, outside round, tenderloin, shoulder clod, brisket, top round and striploin from 28-month-old female horses were used in the present investigation. The cuts were randomly assigned into 2, 10, 20 and 30 days’ ageing groups and ageing was carried out in a chilling room (2 ± 2°C). The results showed that there were significant (P < 0.05) differences among the cuts for the drip loss, pH and cooking loss at all ageing days; particularly, striploin had the lowest pH and highest drip loss whereas shoulder chuck roll had the highest pH value. Ageing significantly (P < 0.05) increased in pH and drip loss in most cuts with the highest drip loss ~5.17% in striploin and the highest cooking loss ~9.27% in shoulder chuck roll after 30 days of ageing. At Day 2 of ageing, no differences in Warner–Bratzler shear force values occurred between the cuts (P > 0.05). Ageing only decreased Warner–Bratzler shear force in the loin and outside round (P < 0.05). Colour parameters also revealed differences between cuts and ageing periods, particularly the L* (lightness) values ranged between the cuts from 34.38 to 37.14, 34.0 to 37.24, 33.24 to 37.07, and 34.7 to 38.92 at Days 2, 10, 20 and 30 of ageing, respectively; similarly the a* (redness) values ranged between the cuts from 16.76 to 17.81, 16.61 to 17.85, 17.46 to 19.46, and 17.72 to 20.47 at Days 2, 10, 20 and 30 of ageing, respectively. For the compression, the lowest hardness values (4.41–5.73 kg) were found in tenderloin at all ageing days. Furthermore, the scores for tenderness, flavour, juiciness and acceptability were different (P < 0.05) among the cuts at all ageing days. Ageing improved flavour of loin, shank and striploin, and juiciness of tenderloin and striploin whereas it decreased the juiciness and acceptability scores of some cuts (e.g. shoulder chuck roll). Thus, the present data provide not only useful information for horse meat producers but also important databases for further investigations.

Assessment of frozen storage duration effect on quality characteristics of various horse muscles

“…Whereas, the other remaining muscles (GM, BF, and SM) showed no pH changes up to 360 days of frozen storage. The ultimate pH values of non-frozen (day 0) or frozen muscles in this study were almost similar to values reported for the fresh horse muscles in literature [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]. This study for the first time, we assessed the effect of frozen storage duration on horsemeat pH values, and these obtained results suggest that there were differences in biochemical changes (e.g., glycolytic rate/or others) among the horse muscles before freezing or during freezing/thawing process.…”

“…Jeju female breed horses (n = 8) with their live weight of about 280 to 350 kg obtained from a local farm in Jeju province, Korea, were used in the present study. The raising procedures, feed content and feeding regimes applied for the animals were similar to those described in our previous study [ 5 ]. The animals were transported from the farm to the abattoir using an animal transporter truck and attempts were made to minimize stress in the animals.…”

“…The cooking loss and Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) of samples at each frozen storage period were determined following the procedures as described in our previous work [ 5 ]. Particularly, each muscle sample (3.0-cm thick) of about 200 to 250 g were placed in plastic bags, put in a pre-heated 72°C water bath (Water bath BS-21, Jeiotech Co., Seoul, Korea) and then heated until their core temperature had reached 70°C.…”

“…The sensory evaluation for the samples in the present study was performed following the procedure as described in our previous study [ 5 ]. Consumer panels consisted of 12 trained members who were staff at the Animal Products Processing Division of National Institute of Animal Science.…”

“…Though horse slaughter for human consumption and trade activities appear quite common in many countries, however, little attention has been paid to the factors affecting its quality characteristics. Furthermore, most studies have only focused on evaluating the effects of pre-harvest factors such as breed, sex and feeding diets, [ 4 ] while only few studies have been conducted to determine the effects of post-harvest factors such as; chilled ageing [ 5 ] or muscle types [ 6 ] on the quality characteristics of horsemeat. In general, these studies have reported that the pre- and post-harvest factors both have considerable impacts on the horsemeat quality and sensory characteristics.…”