Meat quality characteristics in Kıvırcık lambs

Abstract

IntroductionSheep production has a significant share in the animal protein market and there are various factors affecting meat quality (1-3). Although lamb is considered fattier than other meats by a lot of consumers, its fat content is not regarded as a problem as it gives tenderness and more flavor to the meat. However, improper rearing and/ or feeding conditions might cause excessive fattening, which reduces demand from customers. In recent years, the production of lamb, which is preferred by the majority of consumers in Turkey and Mediterranean countries, has declined in Turkey due to a numerical decrease in the sheep population.In the western Anatolian region of Turkey (particularly in the Aegean and Marmara regions) there is a high demand for the meat of Kıvırcık and Kıvırcık crossbred lambs, which is one of the thin-tailed lamb genotypes. Eşme District in Uşak Province is a large market for lamb production in western Anatolia. Due to this demand, there is intensive lamb shipment from Eşme to many city and district centers in the Aegean Region, particularly to İzmir, for slaughter purposes between April and June. Apart from this period, large numbers are shipped to neighboring cities as sacrificial lambs.Rearing systems and feeding conditions have a significant role in carcass formation and meat quality. Important factors in terms of carcass and meat quality include ratio of valuable carcass components, pH, color, water loss, cooking loss, tenderness, and fatty acid composition (4,5). Lamb meat quality involves parameters such as carcass quality characteristics (proportion and distribution of carcass components), meat quality characteristics (chemical composition, microbial characteristics), and eating quality evaluated by panelists (tenderness, juiciness, flavor, total acceptability). Although consumers and retailers desire high eating quality in meat, it is difficult to develop these characteristics due to the technological, financial, and biological limitations for animal farmers (6-8). Desirable traits in meat are high sensory characteristics such as tenderness, juiciness, color, flavor, and a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Kıvırcık lamb is considered to have good meat quality compared to other breeds (6).The present study aimed to determine meat quality of Kıvırcık lambs reared in Eşme, which has a large number of sheep. pH, color, tenderness, water loss, cooking loss, shear force properties, and fatty acid composition were determined from muscle samples collected from different sections of the carcass.

Carcass and meat quality characteristics of Bandur ram lambs

“…The mean percentage of proximate principles and fatty acid profile of Bandur ram lamb meat observed in the the present study (Table 7) were similar to the earlier findings in Suffolk Down suckling lamb (Perez et al, 2002), Dorper sheep (Tshabalala et al, 2003), Awassi ram lambs (Abdullah and Qudsieh, 2008) and Kivircik lambs of Turkey (Yarali et al, 2014). Further, the meat had almost equal proportion of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids.…”

“…Similar pH values (6.61 ± 0.101) were obtained for Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle in Kivircik ram lamb of Turkey (Yarali et al, 2014). However, lower pH of 5.96, 5.93 ± 0.09 and 5.56 were observed in meat of Garole sheep (Banerjee et al, 2009), yearling sheep (Sen et al, 2004) and suckling lambs (Sanudo et al, 2012), respectively.…”

“…However, lower pH of 5.96, 5.93 ± 0.09 and 5.56 were observed in meat of Garole sheep (Banerjee et al, 2009), yearling sheep (Sen et al, 2004) and suckling lambs (Sanudo et al, 2012), respectively. With respect to color, L*, a*, b*, hue and chroma values in the present study indicated high intensity red coloured meat, darker than observed for Kivircik ram lamb meat (Yarali et al, 2014). Bandur ram lamb meat had optimum WHC, which is more acceptable and has similar cooking loss when compared to the earlier reports (Sen et al, 2004;Yarali et al, 2014) on different sheep breeds.…”

“…With respect to color, L*, a*, b*, hue and chroma values in the present study indicated high intensity red coloured meat, darker than observed for Kivircik ram lamb meat (Yarali et al, 2014). Bandur ram lamb meat had optimum WHC, which is more acceptable and has similar cooking loss when compared to the earlier reports (Sen et al, 2004;Yarali et al, 2014) on different sheep breeds. The WBSF value observed in the present study revealed that the meat of Bandur ram lamb is acceptably tender.…”

Bayesian inference of genetic parameters for ultrasound scanning traits of Kivircik lambs

“…An important question that has to be addressed in a breeding program is the choice of the genotypes or breeds that could be improved by selection. In a recent study, it was shown that Kivircik lambs, which are raised mainly in the western Anatolian region of Turkey (Yarali et al, 2014), have a high quality of meat in terms of several meat quality characteristics (Ekiz et al, 2009). Knowledge of genetic variation and covariation among traits of interest is required for the design of effective sheep breeding programs, the accurate prediction of genetic progress from these programs and to obtain accurate breeding value estimates (Safari et al, 2005).…”