engleski

Physicochemical properties of meat of Lika Pramenka lambs raised under semi-extensive production system: effects of sex, slaughter weight and season

The purpose of this study was to determine influence of sex, slaughter weight and slaughtering season on the physicochemical properties of meat of Lika Pramenka lambs raised in accordance with the traditional farming system in the Lika region. Male lambs had higher cooking loss (P≤0.05), higher proportions of linoleic and α-linolenic fatty acids (P≤0.05), and n-6 PUFA (P≤0.05) and n- 6/n-3 ratio (P≤0.01) than female lambs. An increase in slaughter weight significantly affected carcass weight (P≤0.01), dressing percentage (P≤0.01) and the parameter a* (P≤0.05) of the meat colour. The season significantly affected slaughter weight (P≤0.01), carcass weight (P≤0.01), meat colour parameters (P≤0.05) and fatty acid composition (P≤0.05). Lambs slaughtered at a similar age and reared under similar conditions will have very similar expressions of meat quality traits, regardless of gender. Apart from yield and the redness of the meat, it is expected that slaughter weight will not notably affect any other trait that could be of interest for buyers. The season affected almost all the investigated traits, which was primarily due to the different availability of forage.

lambs ; meat quality ; sex ; slaughter weight ; season

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