ABSTRACT
The objective of this work was to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of carcass and meat of Dorper x Santa Ines crossbred lambs finished in a silvopastoral system, pasture or feedlot. Twentyfour non-castrated male lambs were used (8 animals in each production system). The experimental design was completely randomized, with three production systems and eight replications. The production systems were: pasture of Megathyrsus maximus cv. Aruana, without shading + feed supplementation (Pasture); pasture of Megathyrsus maximus cv. Aruana, with natural shading provided by the native laurel tree (Cordia trichotoma) + feed supplementation (Silvopastoral) and feedlot. The cold carcass weight, empty body weight, cold carcass yield, fat color, fat consistency and carcass compactness index showed significant differences (P < 0.05) between production systems, with higher values observed in the feedlot. The shoulder weight and the percentage of shoulder components (bones, muscle, fat and others), did not significantly differ (P > 0.05) between production systems. The pasture silvopastoral systems presented similar results and also, when contrasted with the feedlot system, did not influence the parameters related to meat. Feedlot provided better quantitative and qualitative characteristics to the lambs' carcassess.(AU)
O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as características quantitativas e qualitativas da carcaça e da carne de cordeiros mestiços Dorper x Santa Inês terminados em sistema silvipastoril, a pasto e confinamento. Foram utilizados 24 cordeiros machos não castrados (8 animais em cada tratamento). O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado com três tratamentos e oito repetições. Os tratamentos foram: pastagem de Megathyrsus maximus cv. Aruana, sem sombreamento + suplementação alimentar (Pastagem); pastagem de Megathyrsus maximus cv. Aruana, com sombreamento natural proporcionado pela espécie arbórea Louro-Pardo Nativo (Cordia trichotoma) + suplementação alimentar (Sivilpastoril) e confinamento em aprisco. O peso de carcaça fria, peso de corpo vazio, rendimento de carcaça fria, cor da gordura, consistência da gordura e índice de compacidade da carcaça apresentaram diferença significativa entre os tratamentos (P < 0.05), com valores superiores observados no confinamento. O peso das paletas e a porcentagem dos componentes da paleta (ossos, músculo, gordura e outros), não diferiram significativamente (P > 0.05) entre os sistemas de produção. Os sistemas a pasto sem sombreamento e silvipastoril apresentaram resultados similares, e quando contrastados ao confinamento não apresentaram influência nos parâmetros relacionados a carne. O confinamento proporcionou melhores características quantitativas e qualitativas às carcaças dos cordeiros.(AU)
Subject(s)
Animals , Body Weight , Sheep , Pasture , MeatABSTRACT
Background: The beef production chain has undergone wide and profound changes to meet final consumer demands. Additional evaluation criteria, as well as sensorial quality, were investigated, which contemplated nutritional composition, presentation and production method. One of the most important traits in beef quality evaluation is fat level and its stability, as this is associated with product colour and acceptability. The amount of fat directly affects quality, as it influences lipid oxidation, and may cause rancid odours and unacceptable flavours. Oxidative stability depends, among other factors, on the concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The study was conducted to analyze the relationship between total lipid content, texture and cooking loss of three cuts of beef (short loin, rump and rib) of five brands (A, B, C, D and E), commercialized in Porto Alegre City, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Materials, Methods & Results: Samples of short loin (Longissimus), rump (Biceps femoris) and rib (Intercostal) were collected in a large supermarket chain. Laboratory tests were performed to determine total lipids, texture and cooking loss. The experimental design was completely randomized, factorial arrangement with five brands: two belonged to breed Associations (A) and (B); one was Uruguyan (C); one a regional abattoir (D) and the last a regional hypermarket chain (E), all with three cuts and seven replicates. Interaction was observed between brands and cut, the rib presented significant difference for the different brands for total lipids content (4.61, 2.12 and 1.98% for brands B, E and D, respectively). A significant correlation was found between lipid level and texture (r = 0.41). Longissimus and Biceps femoris differed (P < 0.05) in total lipid content from Intercostal for all brands, and for shear force, Longissimus and B. femoris differed from Intercostal (1.94, 1.87 and 2.92 kgf respectively) with brand D differing from A (2.62 vs 1.76 kgf). Loss during cooking differed (P < 0.05) between the cuts evaluated (16.17 and 20.77% for short loin and rump, respectively). No significant difference was found between brands. Discussion: The rib, as it shows high variability, showed highest lipid levels, and samples from British-type animals, which have high deposition of intramuscular fat (brand B), had the highest values. Marks D and E are mainly from crossbred and zebu type animals, and therefore have lower total lipid levels in the meat. The rib showed the greatest force needed to tear muscle fibers, since it has great variation in the amount of collagen. However, in all cuts analyzed, texture can be regarded as "very tender", probably due to the high quality of the cuts and marks used. Mark A, which commercializes mainly young animals, an important factor affecting texture and tenderness, showed lower shear force while the other marks, mainly C and D, as they sell older animals, showed poorer meat quality. It is important to differentiate between muscle types for water retention as this influences succulence during mastication and therefore the acceptability of the meat by the consumer. The increased water retention capacity, caused by the presence of fat, reflects positively on cooking loss. Cuts with higher and lower cooking loss were, respectively, the rump and loin. Therefore, for these parameters, there are clear differences in quality between the beef brands sold in the city of Porto Alegre.