Physicochemical properties of horse meat as affected by breed, sex, age, muscle type and aging period

Abstract

The effects of breed, sex, age, muscle type (longissimus thoracis; LT vs semitendinosus; ST) and post mortem aging period (14 vs 28 days) on the physicochemical properties of horse meat were investigated. A total of 53 horses (21 females and 32 males) categorised into three groups (cold-blooded, CB; Posavje, P; crossbred, CS) were involved in this study. ST muscles showed a higher pH value, a greater intensity of lightness (L*) and yellowness, higher cooking losses and shear force values, and lower thawing losses than LT muscles. The breed affected only muscle redness, whereas sex had a minor effect on drip loss. An extended aging period was associated with higher thawing and cooking losses. An increase of age was followed by a decrease in pH value and L* value, and an increase in cooking loss and Warner–Bratzler shear force. An investigation of the interaction between muscle and aging showed that ST muscle with an aging period of 14 days had the lowest thawing losses. Among the numerous factors that can influence horse meat quality, the most important ones are age at slaughter and muscle type; these factors must be considered in the routine slaughtering practice and in further research.

Muscle and Subcutaneous Fatty Acid Composition and the Evaluation of Ageing Time on Meat Quality Parameters of Hispano-Bretón Horse Breed

“…Cook loss values ranged between 20.3 and 23.0% ( Figure 4 ). The value obtained in non-aged horse meat (23%) was similar to those values reported by others in cooked horse loins [ 23 , 39 ]. Values decreased from non-aged to 7 d aged meat (20.3%) and then stayed constant.…”

“…The second statement seem to better explain the results of the present study as a decrease in both pH and cook loss happened between 0 and 7 d of ageing ( Figure 1 and Figure 4 ). In the scientific literature, Seong et al [ 23 ] did not observe any differences in cook loss during 30 d ageing whereas Kaic et al [ 39 ] reported an increase in cook loss from 14 to 28 d of horse meat ageing. Overall, only few studies have reported cook loss data in horse meat and the variability of results is considerable.…”

“…The implications of ageing process in meat quality have been extensively studied in beef [ 34 ], in pork [ 35 ] and in sheep meat [ 36 ], but only few studies have been performed in horse meat in which, again, differences in animal age and breed are considerable [ 23 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ].…”