Factors affecting meat quality in lamb

Abstract

Lamb is an expensive product and it is important that it is a reproducible, high-quality eating experience. The challenge for the meat industry is the biological variation within livestock, compounded by environmental influences before slaughter. These may not only affect individual animals differently but also different muscles within the same animal. The current research considers the impact of some of these factors. Lambs of two ages were subjected to exercise stress that would simulate normal farming practice and then slaughtered. Four muscles with different metabolic profiles were selected for analysis: Longissimus lumborum (LL, fast/glycolytic); Gracilis (G, intermediate), Semimembranosus (SM, intermediate); Supraspinatus (SS, slow/oxidative). The temperature and pH changes were measured and meat quality was assessed by cooking loss and shear force. The results were analysed to consider the effects of age/sex, stress and muscle type