Meat quality

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Meat quality

• Kim Matthews
• Meat Scientist

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Important sensory properties of meat

• Flavour
• Tenderness
• Juiciness
• Colour

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Conception to Consumption
Type of animal
Production system
Transport
Slaughter
Chilling
Ageing
Cooking
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Lamb genotype effectson tenderness

• Many breeds
• Not extensively studied
• Some effects in minor breeds but overall
  relatively unimportant

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Carcase attributes of entire lambs

• Leaner
• Heavier
• Greater eye muscle area in the loin
• Higher retail cutting yield

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Eating quality of entire and castrated lambs

• March/April lambing
• Finished June - January

Anderson (1996)
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Flavour of entire male lambs

• Little difference from castrates at 12 weeks
• More unpleasant flavour notes at 30 weeks
• Higher levels of several compounds in entires
• indole 4-methyloctanoic acid
• skatole 4-methylnonanoic acid
• alkylphenols thiophenols
• 4,6-Dimethyl -1,3-oxathiane

Sutherland (1996)
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Rams - recommendations

• Perfectly acceptable up to 5-6 months
• high yield of lean meat
• no quality implications
• Careful management required to ensure
• no unwanted pregnancies
• lambs marketed before ramish characteristics or
  abnormal flavour apparent

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Effect of pasture type on lamb sensory attributes
Whittington et al (2006)
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Effect of slaughter periodon lamb loin tenderness
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Key post-slaughter factors in meat tenderness

• Electrical stimulation
• Hip suspension
• Chilling
• Ageing

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pH temperature for optimal tenderness

• Hot shortening
• pH of lt6 when temperature is gt35degC
• Cold shortening
• pH of gt6 when the
• temperature is
• lt18degC (or 8deg)

where hip suspension or extended ageing applied
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Ideal cooling to avoid shortening (beef)
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HVES lamb
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Difference in tendernessof grilled lamb chops
MLC hogget trial, 1994
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Achilles and aitch-bonesuspension
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Overall acceptabilityof grilled lamb chops
MLC hogget trial, 1994
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Tenderness Benefits of Different Options
Advantage over conventional Achilles
suspension (24 Point sensory scale, MLC data)
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Quality Standard Mark requirements

• No permanent incisor teeth
• Hoggets must be subjected to one of the
  following
• HVES
• hip suspension
• extended maturation (10d)

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Summary

• Lamb is generally tender
• Post mortem practices can ensure older lambs are
  tender
• On-farm factors important for flavour
• Best practice specifications are effective

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Thank you
Thank you