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The main dietary guidelines recommended a restriction of total and saturated fat intake in the management of cardiovascular risk. These recommendations are overgeneralized, and all red meats should be limited and replaced by white meat. The aim is to assess the effect of the consumption of beef (from the Pirenaica breed) or chicken-based diets on body composition, fatty acid profile and cardiovascular (CV) risk indicators in healthy adults. A randomized cross-over study was carried out in three University accommodation halls. Participants consumed either the Pirenaica breed beef or chicken three times per week for 8-week periods with their usual diet. Body composition, clinical, biochemical and dietary variables were evaluated at baseline and at the end of each period. A validated diet questionnaire was used to assess nutrient intake and monitor compliance. Intervention and control group comparisons were done with the general linear regression model for repeated measures. Forty-seven healthy adults were included (51.6% males, mean age 19.9 ± 1.75 years). No significant differences were found in body composition, fatty acid profile or CV risk indicators from baseline in either diet group. Consumption of lean red meat (Pirenaica breed) or lean white meat (chicken) as part of the usual diet is associated with a similar response. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT 04832217 (accessed on 6 September 2022).

La ganadería en el País Vasco es un sector muy diverso en donde conviven tanto razas importadas como razas autóctonas. Con la introducción de las razas importadas las razas autóctonas sufrieron un gran declive, ya que las nuevas razas introducidas, con unos índices productivos muy superiores, han ido cogiendo mucha fuerza al tratarse de animales mucho más rentables desde el punto de vista económico para los ganaderos.Estas razas importadas constan de censos superiores a las razas autóctonas, sobre todo la raza Limousin, el cual gracias a su gran adaptabilidad se ha distribuido por todo el territorio vasco. Aunque estas razas sean mucho más productivas, la raza autóctona Pirenaica se ha ido seleccionando para mejorar dichos índices, siendo la raza de vacuno de carne predominante en cuanto a censos en todo el País Vasco. En cuanto a las demás razas autóctonas, todas ellas mucho más rústicas y menos especializadas en la producción de carne, sufren una situación mucho más complicada, manteniéndose solo gracias a las subvenciones aportadas por el Gobierno del País Vasco y a los proyectos de conservación y mejora genética llevados a cabo durante los últimos años.

Simple Summary In recent years, interest has grown in improving the productivity of pure local breeds in Spain using corn silage as an alternative to concentrates. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the lipid oxidation, color and visual color acceptability of meat from the Avileña-Negra Ibérica breed fed with corn silage in total mixed ration. The inclusion of corn silage led to lower lipid oxidation and higher visual color acceptability when the samples were packaged in a modified atmosphere. The use of corn silage could serve as a feeding option for this type of animal without affecting the quality of the derived meat. Abstract In order to increase the economic profitability of Avileña-Negra Ibérica beef production, the inclusion of corn silage in total mixed rations was proposed during the fattening period. Twenty-four Avileña-Negra Ibérica breed entire young bulls were used to evaluate the effects of two feeding systems—concentrate (CON) and corn silage (SIL)—and two packaging systems—vacuum (VAC) and modified atmosphere (MAP)—on the lipid oxidation, color evolution and visual color acceptability of meat throughout display with either oxygen-permeable film (FILM) or modified atmosphere (MAP). Two muscles were assessed: Longissimus thoracis (LT) and Semitendinosus (ST). Meat from SIL-fed animals had higher TBA values than CON-fed animals after 7 days in MAP packaging. Lipid oxidation was prevented more effectively by VAC packaging than MAP. Display time highly influenced lipid oxidation, since oxidation rates were lower with VAC than MAP packaging. After 14 days of display in MAP, the LT from CON was lighter than the ST. Meat discoloration after 7 days of display was significantly different between packaging systems. Vacuum-packaged meat kept the same color throughout the storage time. Visual color acceptability for the LT was higher throughout display than for the ST. Samples from the MAP were well accepted by consumers, especially the meat from the SIL group. Alternatively, feeding with corn silage could be used for this type of animals without affecting important aspects of meat quality.

El aumento del consumo de carne de porcino a nivel mundial ha obligado a los principales países productores de esta carne a evolucionar y tecnificarse para así poder cumplir con los requerimientos del mercado. Esta evolución se ha dado gracias a la intervención sobre los principales factores que afectan a la producción porcina, entre ellos la productividad de las cerdas reproductoras. Como resultado se ha conseguido aumentar de forma progresiva los lechones destetados por cerda/año en el periodo estudiado, 2010- 2020.El aumento de la productividad de las cerdas supone muchas ventajas económicas pero otras muchas desventajas como el aumento de la mortalidad, la dificultad del manejo de las camadas hiperprolíficas, el incremento de la desigualdad en los lechones y el aumento de la tasa de reposición de las cerdas.Aun con los inconvenientes comentados el aumento de la productividad de las cerdas españolas ha conseguido posicionar a España como uno de los países más importantes dentro del sector porcino europeo y mundial.

Research on fatty acids (FA) is important because their intake is related to human health. NIRS can be a useful tool to estimate the FA of beef but due to the high moisture and the high absorbance of water makes it difficult to calibrate the analyses. This work evaluated near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy as a tool to assess the total fatty acid composition and the phospholipid fraction of fatty acids of beef using freeze-dried meat. An average of 22 unrelated pure breed young bulls from 15 European breeds were reared on a common concentrate-based diet. A total of 332 longissimus thoracis steaks were analysed for fatty acid composition and a freeze-dried sample was subjected to near-infrared spectral analysis. 220 samples (67%) were used as a calibration set with the remaining 110 (33%) being used for validation of the models obtained. There was a large variation in the total FA concentration across the animals giving a good data set for the analysis and whilst the coefficient of variation was nearly 68% for the monounsaturated FA it was only 27% for the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). PLS method was used to develop the prediction models. The models for the phospholipid fraction had a low R2 p and high standard error, while models for neutral lipid had the best performance, in general. It was not possible to obtain a good prediction of many individual PUFA concentrations being present at low concentrations and less variable than other FA. The best models were developed for Total FA, saturated FA, 9c18:1 and 16:1 with R2 p greater than 0.76. This study indicates that NIRS is a feasible and useful tool for screening purposes and it has the potential to predict most of the FA of freeze-dried beef. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

The use of agroindustry by-products in animal diets allows the use of residues that are not fit for human consumption. In this study, it was investigated whether fattening commercial rabbits during 30 days with a non-medicated feed, with 20% addition of grape pomace (GPD), affected production traits and the fatty acid composition, antioxidants properties, and the shelf life of the meat compared to a conventional strategy (CON). Furthermore, it was tested, by chromatographic analysis, whether this alternative diet allowed the transfer of phenolic compounds to the meat. Thirty-six weaned rabbits were allotted to the two treatments. In each treatment, 18 rabbits were fattened in three indoor cages, each housing three males and three female rabbits. No significant differences were found in live weights (p &gt, 0.05), but the feed conversion rate and carcass weight and yield were found to be impaired in the GPD group (p ≤ 0.05). The GPD group had a higher intramuscular fat percentage (2.01 vs. 1.54), improved polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids ratio (0.75 vs. 0.66), and better atherogenicity (0.71 vs. 0.83) and thrombogenicity (1.14 vs. 1.24) indexes, while the n-6/n-3 ratio was higher (25.4 vs. 20.3). Total volatile basic nitrogen in meat was lower in the GPD group (p = 0.01), suggesting a delayed spoilage. However, no improvements in total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, reducing power, and lipid oxidation (p &gt, 0.05) were found in the meat. Even though the GPD pellets offered to the animals had several grape-derived phenolic compounds, and higher antioxidant properties compared to the CON diet, none of the phenolic compounds detected in feeds were detected in the meat samples.

In order to achieve an attractive and differentiated product for the consumer and to optimize and to maximize profitability for the farmers within the EU Protected Geographical Indication &ldquo, Carne de &Aacute, vila&rdquo, 24 yearling males of Avile&ntilde, a-Negra Ib&eacute, rica breed were used to evaluate the effect of 2 feeding systems, concentrate (CON) and maize silage (SIL), and 2 packaging systems, vacuum (VAC) and modified atmosphere (MAP), on fatty acid composition, proximate analysis, water holding capacity and consumer acceptability of meat in 2 muscles: Longissimus thoracis (LT) and Semitendinosus (ST). Animals fed with concentrate showed higher carcass weight. However, feeding did not affect the proximate analysis of the meat. The use of maize silage improved the amount of conjugated linoleic acid and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and the relation n-6 PUFA/n-3 PUFA. In LT muscle, feeding influenced texture, samples from SIL being more tender. The VAC packaging showed higher cooking losses than MAP in both muscles. Aging increased tenderness and cooking losses but decreased thawing losses. LT samples from SIL feeding were better accepted by consumers and VAC packaging showed higher scores than MAP. We can conclude that the use of maize silage could be an alternative feeding for this type of animals improving some aspects of the quality of the meat.

The effects of linseed supplementation level (LSL: 5%, 10% or 15%) and feeding duration (FD: 30, 50 or 70 days) were analysed on productive, carcass and meat quality parameters using 72 cull ewes (n = 8 for each group), to improve their commercial value and meat quality. Both LSL and FD influenced productive parameters, carcass and meat quality. Feeding duration affected final body condition score (P

In order to update the Spanish food composition database, 4 males from each of the following breeds and commercial categories were selected: suckling kids of Murciano-Granadina breed, suckling lambs of Churra and Castellana breeds, and light lambs of Manchega, Merina, Rasa Aragonesa and Segurena breeds. These breeds correspond with the highest census of goats and sheep of Spanish breeds, are located throughout the country, and represent a large proportion of the meat from small ruminants produced in Spain. The shoulder, loin + rack and leg were used. Tissue composition through the dissection of the shoulder was assessed. The edible portion of each joint was obtained to analyze the proximate, fatty acid, cholesterol, mineral and vitamin compositions. For those consumers who want to reduce the intake of fat in their diet, the leg or the shoulder are the recommended joints with a lower fat content than the loin + rack. Meat from Spanish small ruminants is an excellent source of quality nutrients, being high in protein, zinc, pyridoxine and cyanocobalamin, and a source of selenium, phosphorus, potassium and niacin, as well as low in sodium. Therefore, its consumption within a balanced diet guaranties the intake of valuable and essential micronutrients.

International audience; The objective of this study was to determine the variation of the colour of longissimus thoracis muscle within and among fifteen European cattle breeds reared under comparable management conditions. A total of 436 unrelated purebred young bulls from fifteen European breeds (Aberdeen Angus, Highland, Jersey, South Devon, Danish Red, Holstein, Simmental, Asturiana de las Montanas (also known as Casina), Asturiana de los Valles, Avilena-Negra Iberica, Pirenaica, Marchigiana, Piemontese, Charolais and Limousin) were reared in five experimental research centres in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain, Italy and France. The pH of M. longissimus thoracis was measured at 24 h and after 10 days of ageing and colour at 48 h and 10 days. Two generalised linear models, Pearson correlations and a hierarchical cluster analyses were carried out. Lean meat colour differed significantly between breeds, and these fifteen European breeds could be grouped according to four classes of commercial interest: 'very bright and pale-red', 'bright and pale', 'red' and 'dark and dull red'. These groups were partially related to body size and carcass traits, fatness and muscle development and structure, and were controlled by differences in gene expression within each breed.

Dry cured meat&mdash, &lsquo, cecina&rsquo, &mdash, is a traditional, although not well-known, dry product that could add value to cull ewes. Because of this, the aim of the study was to assess consumer acceptability of &lsquo, from cull ewes finished with different levels of linseed (5, 10 or 15%) for different periods before slaughtering (30, 50 or 70 days). One hundred and fifty consumers evaluated colour acceptability, fatness and odour, flavour and overall acceptability of &lsquo, from those 9 treatments. Additionally, habits of consumption of cured products and preferences for different species and willingness to pay for &lsquo, were investigated. Linseed supplementation was identified as the most important factor for sensorial attributes (p &lt, 0.01), with the preferred &lsquo, being that with 5% and 10% supplementation. Feeding duration only modified the fatness acceptability (p &lt, 0.01). &lsquo, Cecina&rsquo, from small ruminants is a product consumed occasionally by the majority of participants, however, it presented an adequate overall acceptability. Consequently, elaborating &lsquo, would be a feasible strategy to improve the income of farmers.

In the current study the collagen, texture, and sensory characteristics of meat from 712 yearling males of 10 local Spanish and French beef breeds raised in their typical production systems were described. The breed‐production system affected collagen and texture variables but affected sensory variables only slightly. There was a large amount of intra breed‐production system variation for all the variables. French breeds had lower values for collagen solubility (~12%) than Spanish breeds (~40%). Stress (WB) varied from 36 N/cm2 in Casina to 44 N/cm2 in Salers, whereas compression stress at 80% ranged from 35 N/cm2 in Asturiana de los Valles to 40 N/cm2 in Salers. Oven cooking resulted in higher cooking losses (24%) than cooking on a grill (12%). Cooking losses increased as the grill temperature increased. Numerous significant correlations were found among variables. Carcass weight is associated with all the collagen and texture variables. Correlation coefficients among texture and collagen variables were statistically significant and these correlation coefficients were in general higher for solubility percentage than for total collagen content, highlighting the importance of the solubility of collagen rather than total collagen in determining meat textural properties. Practical applications. To differentiate a product in the market, it is necessary to define its characteristics. Differentiation allows increasing the added value of products and, therefore, income of the farmers. In addition, it guarantees to the consumers that the product they purchase has the intrinsic and extrinsic quality features that they seek. For consumers, beef texture is one of the most important quality attributes sought, therefore, studying factors that can affect beef texture is a major interest for the industry. info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion

The effect of wine by-products in the feeding of ewes on fatty acid composition of milk and meat of their suckling lambs and the sensory quality of the meat was investigated. Forty-two ewes were fed during the second half of gestation and lactation one out of three treatments: a control diet based on a commercial concentrate and two concentrates supplemented with either 10% grape pomace or 5% grape seed. In addition, all animals had ad libitum access of Lucerne chaff. The control group showed lower concentration of saturated fatty acids (mainly in short and medium chain) and higher monounsaturated fatty acids (mainly oleic acid) in the milk fat, being the total polyunsaturated fatty acids unchanged. However, this variation was not reflected in the meat of the suckling lambs, where only few differences in individual fatty acids were found, such as linoleic acid being highest in the pomace treatment. Spicy and metallic flavours were increased in the wine by-products groups, but overall liking was not affected. The by-products added to the diets may be a good way to reduce costs on feeding and waste, but they were not able to provide a healthier fatty acid profile, neither in milk nor in the meat of the suckling lambs.

Se estudió la calidad de la canal y la carne de lechales ovinos comerciales de raza Churra Tensina (n= 26) según la época de cría y sacrificio (primavera vs. otoño). Estos corderos se compararon con otros tipos comerciales amparados bajo marcas de calidad reconocidas en el mercado con denominación de Indicación Geográfica Protegida (IGP): Lechazo de Castilla-León (n= 13) y Ternasco de Aragón (n= 13). Todos los corderos fueron criados, seleccionados y sacrificados en condiciones comerciales. Tras el sacrificio, se valoró la calidad de la canal y de la carne en el músculo Longissimus thoracis y lumborum (LTL). Los lechales de Churra Tensina presentaron diferencias según la época de producción, fundamentalmente en las variables relacionadas con la composición tisular de la canal, presentando, los lechales de primavera, un mayor porcentaje de músculo y hueso, y menor de grasa que los de otoño (p≤0,001), así como una mayor proporción de los ácidos grasos C 12:0, CLA, C 20:2 n-3 o C 22:0 (p≤0,001) en la grasa intramuscular. Estas diferencias de composición no se reflejaron en el análisis sensorial, ya sea mediante panel entrenado o consumidores. La carne de los lechales de la raza Churra Tensina presentó una terneza superior (p≤0,001) a la de los productos IGP con los que se comparó, tanto instrumentalmente como sensorialmente (panel entrenado) y una mayor aceptabilidad tanto general, como del sabor y de la terneza (consumidores) (p≤0,001). Los resultados obtenidos reflejarían el potencial de dicha raza para la producción de lechales de calidad, en ambas estaciones del año.

We analysed the effect of a modified pen using a wooden screen with flaps and cereal straw as forage and bedding, on behaviour, stress response, performance and meat quality variables of lambs housed in feedlots. Sixty male lambs were placed in enriched (ESF) or conventional (CO) pens (3 pens/treatment, 10 lambs/pen). The CO environment was barren. The ESF lambs showed a great preference for the provided items, which encouraged more natural and richer behaviour, reducing stereotypies and lamb aggressions, and increasing affiliations (P ≤ 0.05), which improves group cohesion. However, ESF lambs also developed a more natural coping style to the handling, evidenced by the higher cortisol levels (65.4 vs. 43.8 nmol/L) and a higher eye temperature as response to the reactivity test (38.1 vs. 37.8 °C). The ESF lambs had a higher (P ≤ 0.05) slaughter weight (27.2 vs. 26.3 kg), conformation score (7.38 vs. 6.07) and pH 24 (5.63 vs. 5.56) but lower cooking losses (12.9 vs. 14.9%) than CO lambs.

SummaryChamaritolamb was recognized as a quality brand in Spain in April 2010 and this meat is highly appreciated in the local market, but little is known about how a short fattening period may affect final product quality. Twenty lambs, ten from the Ternasco category and ten from the suckling lamb category, were slaughtered and their carcass characteristics compared. All animals were weighed at birth, weaning and before slaughter, and average daily gain was calculated. Cold carcasses were weighed and bruising score, carcass conformation and carcass fatness were noted. The left back of each carcass was separated for dissection. The meat pH, cooking and thawing losses, texture, colour and fatty acid composition were measured on M.longissimussamples. Production traits and meat quality variables were analysed fitting a one-way model with the fixed effect of mean lamb age at harvest. The conformation and degree of fatness of Ternasco-type lambs was not significantly different from suckling lambs but the pH values 24.00 hours post-mortem in muscle (pHult) of the former was slightly higher. The fatty acid profile of suckling lambs was more suitable for a healthy human diet.

The study analyzed the effect of using sawdust, cellulose, straw, and rice husk bedding on the welfare, performance and meat quality of lambs during the finishing phase of fattening. Ninety-six lambs (fed ad libitum with concentrate) were assigned to pens containing 1 of 4 bedding materials in groups of 12 for 14 days. Live weight and feed consumption were recorded to estimate daily gain and conversion index, and carcass and meat quality variables were measured. Stereotypies, exploratory interactions with bedding material, and agonistic and affiliative interactions between animals were recorded by continuous sampling techniques using video recording. The substrates affected behavior and stress response variables. There were more stereotypies and agonistic interactions at the beginning of the experiment in all treatments (P ≤ 0.05). The lambs fattened on cellulose bedding interacted more with the substrate throughout the finishing stage (P ≤ 0.05), where there were also more affiliative interactions (P ≤ 0.05). Stress levels were lower in lambs on straw, followed by cellulose. No significant differences in production or carcass and meat quality traits were observed between treatments. The results suggest that all substrates evaluated could be efficiently incorporated into the system as bedding material without affecting productivity or product quality.

A total of 64 intensively reared Friesian steers were used in a 2×2×2 design to study the effects of age of castration (15 days old v. 5 months old), dietary protein level (14.6% v. 16.8%; DM basis) and lysine/methionine (lys/met) ratio (3.0 v. 3.4) on meat quality. The lys/met ratio of 3.0 was reached with supplementation of protected methionine. Animals were slaughtered at a live weight of 443.5 ± 26.2 kg at around 12 months of age. Colour and lipid oxidation were measured in the longissimus thoracis muscle throughout the 14 days of display under modified atmospheric and commercial display conditions. A panel of 17 consumers assessed daily the visual acceptability of the meat on display. A consumer acceptability eating test was also performed with 120 consumers in meat aged for 7 days under vacuum conditions. Lipid oxidation was not influenced by castration age and the protein level in the diet. Castration age did not affect meat colour, but meat from the low protein level diet and the low lys/met ratio showed higher redness (a*) from 3 days of display onwards. Nevertheless, from 6 days onwards, consumer visual acceptability was below the level of acceptance in all treatments, and even from 5 days onwards in those animals that underwent early castration and were fed either a high protein diet or a combination diet low in protein content and high in lys/met ratio. The best accepted treatments throughout the display period were those from late castrated animals fed a low protein diet, probably related to other visual aspects. However, the best accepted meat after consumption was that from late castrated animals fed high protein and high lys/met. The addition of protected methionine to reach lys/met levels of 3.0 did not improve beef acceptability, with the high protein diet being preferred by consumers in terms of palatability in late castrated animals.

En este trabajo se ha realizado un análisis de los datos productivos de granjas de reproductoras 100% Ibéricas y de cebos de cerdos 50% Ibéricos. Se ha estudiado la situación actual y el aumento del censo del cerdo Ibérico de cebo en España, así como el número de las explotaciones en régimen intensivo. Se han comparado los datos productivos, la nutrición, la genética y el manejo de granjas de madres y de cebaderos de ibéricos con resultados de cerdo blanco, obteniendo diferencias muy significativas para todos los datos analizados. En reproductoras los índices reproductivos que más se distinguen entre Ibéricas y blancas son prolificidad y lechones destetados, siendo siempre los números más bajos los correspondientes a las cerdas Ibéricas. La diferencia entre las medias de nacidos totales entre ambas cerdas es de 5,7 lechones. Las cerdas blancas destetan de media 14,6 lechones más al año. En cebo de cerdos Ibéricos se han contrastado los datos productivos obtenidos en crianzas en cebaderos de suelo de rejilla y cebaderos con cama de paja, tales como Consumo y Ganancia Media Diaria e Índice de Conversión. En los cebaderos con cama de paja hay un gasto de 30,15 toneladas más de pienso y son crianzas de 13,8 días de media más largas. Así mismo se han equiparado con resultados de cebos de cerdo blanco existiendo notables diferencias.

The meat from 60 commercial suckling males of five Spanish goat breeds (n = 10 each) (Moncaina [MO], Pirenaica [PI], Negra Serrana [NS], Blanca Celtiberica [BC] [all meat or double purpose] and Murciano-Granadina [MG] [dairy purpose]) and one dairy sheep breed (Churra [CH]) was compared in laboratory-based (n = 119) and home-based (n = 70) consumer tests. In the laboratory, flavor (P ≤ 0.01), tenderness (P ≤ 0.001) and overall acceptability (P ≤ 0.001) differed significantly among the breeds, and MO, NS, MG and CH had the highest overall acceptability. In the home-based test, tenderness (P ≤ 0.01) and overall acceptability (P ≤ 0.05), but not flavor, differed significantly among the breeds, and MO, BC, MG and CH had the highest overall acceptability. In conclusion, the two consumer test evaluated were adequate for evaluating meat acceptability from suckling small ruminants, having comparable results, although consumer preferences were slightly higher and signification levels slightly lower under home conditions than under laboratory conditions. Practical Applications Consumer acceptance is a big aim of any food sector. Meat is a complex product to be evaluated because of its intrinsic variability and because it needs to be cooked previously to be assessed. Comparisons with the same animals, in different circumstances: cut, type of cooking and temperature, condiments, ambiance, as it occurs in home tests or laboratory tests hardly exist. In this paper, the same results have been obtained in both tests with meat from small ruminants. This will undoubtedly favor the development of meat consumer tests in the future.

The choice experiments technique was used to estimate the relative importance of some of the main attributes of beef; origin (locally produced, other Spanish origin), animal diet (conventional, enriched with n-3, with CLA, or with n-3 plus CLA), amount of visible fat (slight, moderate), meat colour (bright red, pale red), and price (6.6, 5.7, 4.8 and 3.9 € per tray containing 0.3 kg of beef loin) in three Spanish cities (Barcelona, Pamplona, Zaragoza) with 322 individuals. Consumer segments with similar preference profiles of beef choices were identified using the Latent Class model. Consumer liking of beef enriched with n-3 and/or CLA fatty acids was also evaluated by the same consumers. The most important cue driving the majority of consumers’ beef purchase decisions was the amount of visible fat (36%) followed by price (25%), then colour (19%) and origin (17%), and finally animal diet (4%) which was not important. Most consumers preferred beef with a slight content of visible fat, medium–low price, locally produced and bright red colour. Segmentation analysis revealed three consumer profiles: ‘health conscious consumers’ with preference for lean beef (consumers: older, women, retired, housewives, greater food expenditure and more concerned with health); ‘price-oriented consumers’ with preference for lowest priced beef (consumers: younger, students, higher education, lower beef intake and purchase at supermarket); and ‘quality-oriented consumers’ with preference for beef with moderate amount of visible fat (consumers: men, from Barcelona). Consumers were willing to pay a premium of 1.21, 1.52 and 2.04 € over 14 €/kg for CLA, n-3 and n-3 plus CLA enriched beef, respectively. ‘Health conscious consumers’ were more willing to pay and more likely to purchase enriched beef with beneficial fatty acids. The individual beef enrichment with n-3 or CLA improved consumer liking scores, while the combined enrichment with n-3 plus CLA offered no hedonic advantages over conventional beef.

The effects of castration age, dietary protein level and the dietary lysine/methionine (lys/met) ratio on animal performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality were studied in 64 intensively reared Friesian steers. Animals underwent castration procedures at 15 days old or at 5 months old. Dietary treatments started at 90 days old, with eight animals from each castration age randomly allocated to each treatment: 14.6% v. 16.8% CP (DM basis), and 3.0 v. 3.4 lys/met, on a 2×2×2 design. The recommended ratio of 3.0 was reached with supplementation of protected methionine. Steers were slaughtered at 443.5±26.2 kg live weight when they reached 12 months old approximately. Average daily gain, cold carcass weight or carcass classification were not affected by any studied effect. Muscle moisture (P=0.024), C18:2n-6 percentage (P=0.047), polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid (P=0.049) and n-6/n-3 (P=0.003) were higher in late castrated animals. Both high levels of dietary protein (P=0.008) and lys/met ratio (P=0.048) increased the percentage of muscle in the carcass. A level of 16.8% of CP in the diet also increased the percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids in the intramuscular fat (P=0.032), whereas a ratio lys/met of 3.4 decreased the percentage of saturated fatty acids (P=0.028). Thus, it is recommended using diets with a high protein level (16.8%) and a high lys/met ratio (3.4) in animals slaughtered at a young age, in order to obtain carcasses with high muscle content without negatively affecting productive traits or intramuscular fat composition.

Thirty lambs were used to assess the influence of cooking methods on the nutritional composition of Spanish light lamb. With this aim, the left legs without shank, deboned and untrimmed of any adipose tissue, were analyzed raw. The right legs were analyzed after undertaking one of three cooking procedures: stewing, grilling or roasting. All cooking procedures increased the percentage of fat compared to the raw meat (9.6%), for equivalent sample quantities. This increment was mainly due to the increase in dry matter, from 28.5% in the raw product to 41.6% in roasted or stewed meat, caused by the water losses during cooking. Stewing caused the highest increase in fat, possibly due to fat absorption from the ingredients used in the recipe. This implied an extraordinary increment on the percentage of linoleic acid increasing from 5% to 11% of total fatty acids. n -3 fatty acids were less affected by cooking than n -6 fatty acids. Stewing could improve the fat quality according to cardiovascular indices, although the excess levels of fat should be taken into account. Moreover, cooking also caused the disappearance of B-vitamins to a higher extent than minerals, when expressed on a dry-matter basis. The composition of roasted or grilled lamb was very similar, even when cooking time was very different.

espanolEl cruzamiento industrial tiene una gran repercusion en el mercado, ya que la raza es uno de los factores que mas afecta a la composicion de la canal y de la carne. En el mercado espanol existen mayoritariamente terneros cruzados procedentes de razas rusticas y de razas de aptitud carnica con el objetivo de mejorar la calidad de la canal. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la calidad de la carne de terneros procedentes de cruces de Retinta con machos de razas Asturiana de los Valles, Limusin, Retinta y Pirenaica. Para ello, se cebaron con pienso 28 terneros, distribuidos en cuatro lotes segun la raza del macho, que fueron sacrificados a los doce meses de edad con un peso medio de 480,0 ± 15,5 kg. En general, la carne de los animales de raza pura tendio a presentar valores mas bajos para las perdidas por presion y el porcentaje de humedad y valores mas altos para las perdidas por goteo que la carne de los cruces. El cruce con Limusin produjo carnes con mayor claridad a cualquier tiempo de exposicion y tendio a presentar menor carga WB y menor esfuerzo al 20% que el resto de los cruces, en especial a tiempos cortos de maduracion. El cruce con Pirenaica dio lugar a carnes con mayor saturacion, mayor concentracion de pigmentos heminicos y mayor carga WB. El cruce con Asturiano de los Valles origino carnes con menor claridad y menores perdidas por cocinado a tiempos largos, tendiendo a presentar los valores mas bajos para saturacion y menores perdidas por goteo a tiempos cortos. El interes del cruce con toros carnicos es evidente por la mejora en el rendimiento carnicero pero en este estudio no se ha manifestado una mejora en la calidad instrumental de su carne EnglishCrossbreeding has a great impact in meat-producers markets because breed is one of the main factors affecting carcass and meat quality. Young bulls raised in Spain are usually cross-bred from autochthonous dams and meat-sires to improve carcass quality. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the breed of the sire on meat quality. Twenty-eight young bulls were divided into 4 groups according to the sire breed to be finished, and slaughtered at twelve months of age with 480.0 ± 15.5 kg. The Control group was established with Retinta purebreed bulls, and the three experimental groups with Limusin, Pirenaica and Asturiana de los Valles crossbred animals. In general, meat from purebred animals tended to present lower values for pressure losses and moisture percentage, and higher values for the drop losses than meat from the other groups. Limousin crossbreeding produced meats with greater lightness at any exposure-time and tended to have lower WB load values and lower values for stress at 20% than the other crosses, especially at short-ageing times. Pirenaica crossbreeding resulted in meat with higher Chroma, higher concentration of haem pigments and greater WB load values. Asturiana de los Valles crossbreeding originated meat with lower lightness and lower cooking losses at long-ageing times, tending to present the lowest values for Chroma and the lowest values for drip losses. The interest of crossbreeding with meat bulls is evident, since it improves dressing percentage, although the instrumental quality of the meat has not been improved in this study

The objective of the current study was to analyse the effects of double transport and season on sensorial aspects of lamb's meat quality in dry climates. A total of 144 lambs were sampled in a 3 × 2 × 2 factorial design, testing three types of double transport along the residence time at a pre-slaughter classification centre or CC (0, 7 and 28 days) and two seasons (summer and winter), with two replicates in each season. Meat from the M. longissimus was analysed in terms of pH and WHC and tasted by a trained sensory panel in terms of lamb odour intensity, tenderness, juiciness, lamb flavour intensity, fat flavour intensity, liver flavour intensity, metallic flavour intensity and overall liking. Meat sensorial quality traits were not significantly affected by double transport. Season had a significant (P < 0.001) effect on all variables analysed, except for lamb flavour intensity and overall liking. Interactions between the fixed effects were not significant, with the exception of tenderness. Season significantly affects several sensorial variables, and they seem to be independent of double transport, with the exception of tenderness.

The effect of the fattening diet, slaughter weight and sex on meat quality was studied in a total of 156 hybrid rabbits. After weaning, rabbits were divided into three groups of 52 animals each (50% male and 50% female), that were allocated for three weeks to one of three commercial diets containing low (14.28%, A), medium (18.04%, B) and high (20.48%, C) fibre content with decreasing energy levels. Animals were slaughtered at 2.0 and 2.3 kg after the consumption of a common pre-slaughter non-medicated concentrate and pH, colour, water-holding capacity (WHC), Warner–Bratzler shear test and sensory analysis were all measured. Meat from animals fed with low fibre and high energy was the least luminous. Rabbits slaughtered at 2.0 kg showed more yellowness than at 2.3 kg at 0 min. In both traits, these differences did not prevail after 15 min of blooming. Globally, meat from males was more coloured than that of the females, both at 0 and 15 min of blooming. No significant differences were found for pH, WHC or shear test for the individual effects. In the sensory analysis, rabbit and grass odours were more intense at 2.0 kg than at 2.3 kg of slaughter weight.

This study determined whether short (2 h) or long (8 h) lairage at an abattoir had an effect on plasma stress indicators (haematocrit, glucose, lactate, creatine phosphokinase and corticosterone), instrumental meat quality (pH24, water holding capacity, colour, raw and cooked texture) and sensory meat quality (using a trained sensory panel) in rabbits. The effect of the position of the animals on a multifloor rolling cage stand during lairage was also assessed. Lairage time had a significant effect on blood stress indicators, but only a slight effect on meat quality traits. A lairage duration of 6–8 h is recommended.

Sensory characteristics of longissimus thoracis muscle from three local Spanish beef breed-production systems and their relationships with chemical and instrumental meat quality traits were studied. Young bulls of Bruna dels Pirineus (BP; n = 69), Avilena-Negra Iberica (A-NI; n = 70) and Morucha (MO; n = 70) breeds were reared in their own production systems. MO breed showed the highest water holding capacity and also the highest thawing loss and haem pigment content (P < 0.001). No differences in moisture and protein contents were found among breeds. A-NI showed the highest intramuscular fat (IMF, P < 0.05) and total collagen (P < 0.001) contents, whereas BP showed the lowest IMF content (P < 0.05) and the highest collagen solubility (P < 0.001). Beef flavour, tenderness and juiciness accounted for the eating quality differences among the three breed-production systems. Meat from A-NI was rated significantly higher (P < 0.01) for beef flavour and tenderness than that from BP and MO animals. Furthermore, MO showed the lowest juiciness (P < 0.001) which could be due to its higher thawing loss. Within the three breeds, thawing loss was negatively correlated with juiciness and, likewise cooking loss with juiciness and tenderness (P < 0.05). The canonical discriminant analysis showed that the three breeds were significantly different (P < 0.05) from each other according to sensory attributes, which justifies their involvement in different protected geographical indications (PGI).

The development of proper environmental enrichment would be a useful tool to tackle the welfare problems associated with intensive indoor lamb production. This study analyses the effect of enrichment with double bunk and cereal straw on behaviour, use of space, stress response, productive traits and meat quality variables during the finishing phase of fattening lambs. Sixty lambs were placed in enriched (ED) or conventional (CO) pens (3 pens each treatment, 10 lambs/pen) where ED had a double bunk with ramps and cereal straw as bedding and forage. The CO pen was barren, similar to commercial feedlots, without straw or any other enrichment. The proposed ED had a positive effect on the behavioural characteristics of the lambs, which displayed a richer behavioural repertoire, fewer stereotypes and more affiliative interactions, improving group cohesion. Moreover, ED lambs had enhanced immunity and there were no discernible detrimental effects on performance or on the commercial quality of their meat. However, the enriched system proposed may pose difficulties for feedlot handling procedures.

Instrumental assessments and sensory tests were performed to evaluate the effects of diet and postmortem ageing time (1, 7 and 21 days) on beef quality. A total of 48 Friesian calves were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments: control, whole linseed (10% linseed), conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) (2% protected CLA), and whole linseed + CLA (10% linseed and 2% protected CLA). Animals were slaughtered at 458 ± 16.6 kg live weight and 11 months of age. Ageing was more significant than diet on most instrumental parameters. Meat from linseed enriched diets had greater drip loss ( P ⩽ 0.001) and intramuscular fat ( P ⩽ 0.01) than meat from animals fed CLA. Beef aged for 7 and 21 days had lower cooking losses ( P ⩽ 0.01) and shear force ( P ⩽ 0.001) than beef aged for 1 day. Lightness was affected only by display time. The addition of CLA in the diet increased hue and yellowness, whereas the inclusion of linseed decreased these values, as well as increased redness. Linseed in the diet decreased fat odour ( P ⩽ 0.05), but increased beef ( P ⩽ 0.01) and liver ( P ⩽ 0.05) flavours. Meat aged for 21 days was significantly more rancid ( P ⩽ 0.001), even under vacuum storage. Several organoleptic properties were improved with the inclusion of linseed in the diet, whereas they remained unaffected by the inclusion of CLA. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The longissimus lumborum (right and left) from 180 entire male lambs were tasted by a nine-member trained taste panel. The samples were from lambs from three Spanish breeds; Rasa Aragonesa (local meat breed), Churra (local dairy breed) and Spanish Merino. Within breed, three slaughter live weights were considered (10–12, 20–22 or 30–32 kg) and meat was aged in a vacuum package for 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 days. Panellists assessed a total of eight descriptors. Lamb odour and lamb flavour intensities increased with slaughter weight. However, fat flavour intensity was significantly influenced by breed, with the highest score for Rasa Aragonesa. Off-flavour intensity was influenced by breed and ageing, with higher scores for Rasa Aragonesa and longer ageing times. Tenderness and juiciness were influenced by all three effects (P ⩽ 0.001, each) and there was a significant interaction between breed and slaughter live weight. Meat was juicier and more tender in the lightest Churra lambs, and in the Spanish Merino lambs for the heavier weight animals. Tenderness and juiciness increased with ageing. The best quality flavour was for the Spanish Merino and the intermediate and heavier lambs.

The effects of breed, slaughter weight and ageing time on the meat quality of the three most important Spanish breeds were considered. Two hundred and twenty-five lambs of Rasa Aragonesa-local meat breed-, Churra-local dairy breed- and Spanish Merino were used. Animals (75 of each breed) were slaughtered at three different live weights (10–12, 20–22 or 30–32 kg), and the meat was aged for 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 days. The meat pH, colour, amount of haem pigments, intramuscular fat, moisture, hydroxyproline content and sarcomere length were measured at 24 h post-mortem. Meat texture was measured by compression after each ageing time. The pH of the samples ranged from 5.50 to 5.58. Meat colour varied with breed and slaughter weight (P ⩽ 0.01), the M. longissimus thoracis was lighter in the youngest animals and in the Churra breed and redder in Merinos. Intramuscular fat increased and moisture decreased for heavier lambs. Differences in collagen were associated with breed (P ⩽ 0.01); total and insoluble collagen contents were higher in the Churra breed. Sarcomere length was only slightly affected by slaughter weight. Meat from the Churra breed had the highest values at high levels of compression. Suckling lambs (10–12 kg) had greater myofibrillar toughness than heavier lambs and ageing strongly influenced myofibrillar tenderness.

Seventy-four young bulls of the Bruna dels Pirineus beef cattle breed were reared in a typical production system and slaughtered at an average age of 381 days and live weight of 541 kg. The animals were evaluated for productive traits, carcass quality, meat quality, eating quality and biochemical characteristics of m. longissimus thoracis (LT). Biochemical measurements included intramuscular fat (IMF) and collagen proportion, haem pigment concentration, lactate dehydrogenase and isocitrate dehydrogenase activities and type I (MHC I) fibre percentage determined by ELISA. Bruna dels Pirineus bulls achieved high growth rates during the fattening period (1.63 kg/day) and showed good carcass quality, with a high dressing-out proportion (607 g/kg, hot carcass), a good conformation score (U; EUROP) and a moderate fatness score (3;1–5). Carcass composition was estimated from the sixth rib joint dissection (682 g/kg lean proportion, 127 g/kg total dissectable fat and 163 g/kg bone). IMF (24.3 g/kg) and MHC I (27.9%) showed high variabilities (CV>30%). Sensory analysis of LT included beef and livery odour and flavour intensity, and overall tenderness and juiciness assessment of loin samples (14-day ageing). Beef odour and flavour were slightly positively correlated with IMF and carcass fatness score (P

Forty-eight slaughter bulls were transported by road in groups of eight for approximately 30 min, 3 h and 6 h in two replicates. After slaughter and an ageing time of 7 days, steaks from the longissimus dorsi thoracis were tasted by a trained sensory panel in terms of odour, tenderness, residue, juiciness, flavour intensity, flavour quality, and overall liking. Transport time had a significant effect (P

We analysed the effect of enriched housing on the sensory meat quality and fatty acid composition of longissimus muscle in 60 entire Rasa Aragonesa lambs, housed indoors for 5 weeks in six pens (10 lambs/pen, 0.95 m 2 /lamb, initial weight 17.13 ± 0.18 kg and carcass mean 12.23 ± 0.23 kg); three control pens (barren) and three enriched pens (straw, platform with ramps and a small ramp). The final weight, carcass weight, fatness scores and cooking losses of meat from enriched lambs (EG) were higher and pH 24 was lower (P ≤ 0.05). The EG lambs had more C18:0 and total SFA (P ≤ 0.05). Lamb odour and grass odour were more intense in EG (P ≤ 0.05). Overall liking was higher for EG (P ≤ 0.05) and associated with tenderness (P ≤ 0.0001). The results suggest that environmental enrichment can have effects on fatty acid composition and sensory meat quality.

The effect of breed-production system on the myosin heavy chain 1 (MHC-I), the biochemical characteristics and the colour variables of longissimus thoracis (LT) from seven beef breeds was studied: Asturiana de la Montaña (AM), Asturiana de los Valles (AV), Avileña-Negra Ibérica (A-NI), Bruna dels Pirineus (BP), Morucha (MO), Pirenaica (PI) and Retinta (RE) (Age at slaughter between 368 and 541 days; carcass weight between 249 and 334 kg). Significant differences between breed-production systems were found for all traits evaluated. LT from the MO, a rustic type breed, was the most oxidative (MHC-I, 39.3%; isocitrate dehydrogenase activity, 52 nmol min(-1) mg(-1); pigment content, 188.4 μg acid haematin g(-1)) and showed a low L* value (32.6) and high a* and C* values (24 and 27.2, respectively). In terms of meat colour (L* and a*) the canonical discriminant analysis separated the breeds into two groups, the AV, the PI and the A-NI (the lightest ones) from the AM and the MO breeds (the reddest and darkest) whereas the BP showed an intermediate position. The RE and the A-NI were distinguished from the others by their high intramuscular fat content. Meat colour was affected by the muscle biochemical traits in the breed-production systems studied.

This study investigated the effects of weaning and sex on various aspects of production and quality characteristics in 22 male and 18 female lambs of the Rasa Aragonesa local meat breed. Half the lambs were weaned (W) at 38 to 40 days and half were left unwearied (UW). Both groups were given ad libitum concentrates and cereal straw. Average farm weight was 22·1 kg at 78·3 days. Live-weight gain was significantly different between sexes but not between W and UW lambs. Dressing proportion was higher in UW lambs. Significant differences in fatness were found between W and UW lambs and between sex of lambs. Among the meat quality traits, W lambs had redder and UW lambs paler meat judged by colour a* and haem pigment concentration. No statistical differences were found in the other traits except flavour intensity, which was higher in UW (66·8) than in W (63·6) lambs on a 1 to 100 scale. All other eating quality aspects, in grilled m. longissimus lumborum slices, tended to be higher in UW lambs. The fatty acid composition of subcutaneous and intramuscular fat depots differed significantly (intramuscular fat was more unsaturated and polyunsaturated). There were also differences between W and UW lambs in subcutaneous fat (higher unsaturated in W lambs). However in intramuscular fat composition only differences in polyunsaturated fatty acids (higher in UW lambs), but not in total unsaturated or saturated, were observed. Tatty acids of less than C16 chain length were higher, in both fat depots, in UW lambs than in W lambs reflecting greater incorporation of milk fatty acids. Palatability characteristics were not closely associated with fatty acid composition except that flavour intensity was correlated with total saturated fatty acids.

The influence of breed on carcase and meat quality traits was studied in 48 suckling lambs (approximately 1 month old) from the Churra, Castellana and Manchega Spanish breeds and Awassi crosses. Carcase quality traits were determined by visual assessment and objective measurements. Meat quality was assessed by instrumental and sensory analysis. Breed effect was significant for fatness, carcase conformation and fat colour (visual indicators); dressing %, carcase weight, carcase length, buttock and chest measurements, and lean and fat proportions in the left half of the carcase. A significant breed effect was observed for some instrumental measurements of meat quality (meat colour and cooking losses), and for some sensorial attributes (tenderness and juiciness). These results suggest that there is a measurable effect of breed on both carcase and meat quality traits in this type of young suckling lamb, owing to differences in precocity and inherent productive capabilities.

Twenty Gascon young bulls that had been reared either in intensive conditions (INT) (n=10) with early weaning at 3 to 4 months, or in a traditional extensive (EXT) system (n=10) with weaning at 7 months, were subjected to the same conditions during the 145-day finishing period. Production system before the finishing period did not affect conformation, dressing percentage or morphology of the carcass; nevertheless, tissue composition differed somewhat between the two groups. Display had a stronger effect on meat colour than did production system. Percentage of myoglobin was highest in INT (P⩽0.001), although meat texture and sensory quality did not differ between rearing conditions. EXT animals had darker, more yellow fat, a higher percentage of n-3 fatty acids (P⩽0.001), a lower percentage of saturated fatty acids (P⩽0.05) and a lower n-6/n-3 index (P⩽0.001) than did the INT-reared animals. Production system before the fattening period might modify some of the characteristics of commercial beef, especially those associated with fat.

The effect of varying concentrate composition to include 5% linseed and 200 IU of vitamin E on the growth performance, fatty acid composition, and muscle color during shelf life was assessed in 46 young Pirenaica bulls finished to two fatness levels. Adding 5% linseed lowered the dressing rate without altering daily gain or carcass classification. It likewise did not alter the total saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated fatty acids in the intramuscular fat, though the percentage of α-linolenic acid and n − 3 fatty acids increased significantly while the n − 6 fatty acid to n − 3 fatty acid ratio decreased. Higher subcutaneous fat cover depth at slaughter increased the total percentage of oleic acid and monounsaturated fatty acids without affecting the percentage of saturated or polyunsaturated fatty acids. Adding 200 IU of vitamin E in addition to linseed did not alter the color of film-wrapped fresh meat during storage in darkness.

This study analyses the effect of environmental enrichment on the welfare, productive traits and meat quality of lambs housed in feedlots. Sixty lambs were placed in enriched (EE) or conventional (CO) pens (3 pens for each treatment, 10 lambs/pen) where EE had a wooden platform with ramps that provided access to a concentrate hopper, cereal straw as bedding and forage, and one play ramp. The CO pen was barren, similar to commercial feedlots. The physiological adaptation response of EE lambs was more efficient than CO, since the latter mobilised more body reserves (i.e., increased NEFA, P0.05), and had lower levels of immunity (i.e., increased N/L, P0.05), which indicate chronic stress, probably associated with the barren environment. The EE lambs had a higher (P0.05) average daily gain, with heavier carcasses and higher fattening scores, as well as lower pHult, higher L and b values, and lower values of texture (P0.05).

The effects of different fats in the diet were evaluated on the basis of animal performance, carcass and meat-quality traits. Four groups of eight Friesian steers were intensively finished with concentrate and cereal straw given ad libitum. Four different types of fats were included at a 4% level in the diet, namely, palm oil, sunflower oil, tallow and hydrogenated fat. The feeding trial lasted for 84 days. There were no differences on animal performance or carcass characteristics, except for animals from the hydrogenated-fat diet, which had the greatest percentage of muscle and moisture, and the lowest percentage of fat in a 6th rib dissection. Meat colour, texture, lipid oxidation and consumer acceptability did not differ among the diets. Nevertheless, the effects of ageing or display time were more important than those of the source of fat. Intramuscular fatty acid profile was hardly influenced by the fat source. In conclusion, the type of fat added at the final stage of the rearing process, at a 4% of inclusion level, did not produce noticeable variations on productive parameters or product quality. This would allow to formulate rations for cattle, using the most profitable source of fat (added at low levels), without having variability on the product quality.

Meat from very young, milk-fed, small ruminants is an appreciated product in Mediterranean countries where milk is the main product derived from the herds. Nevertheless, many aspects of the quality of the products are virtually unknown for many goat breeds, especially among those that are reared for their meat. In this study, the quality from 50 animals from 5 local goat breeds (one dairy purpose and 4 meat purpose) and 19 lambs (from Churra, a dairy breed) was compared at commercial cold carcass weights of 4.4-6.6 kg. Carcass quality, ultimate pH and meat colour were assessed following standard procedures. Statistical differences (p < 0.05) were found in all of the variables analysed. Some of these differences might have been due to the influence of the genotype, the dam’s production potential, or differences in carcass weight and age, but most were species dependent. Lambs differed from the kids, especially from those of meat purpose breeds, due to their high proportion of bone (25.0 vs. 21.3 to 23.7%), and a more intense meat colour (higher hue: 29.2 vs. 23.4 to 28.7, and chroma: 14.6 vs. 12.1 to 14.6). Among the goat breeds, Murciano Granadina (dairy breed) and Blanca Celtibérica (meat breed) were the most different in terms of carcass morphology, fatness, and meat colour. The other three local meat-purpose goat breeds (Moncaína, Negra Serrana, and Pirenaica) differed little. To obtain a better understanding of goat species, the differences among breeds, in kids or in their most common products, require further studies. Additional key words: carcass morphology; colour; goat; pH; sheep; tissue composition. La carne de lechal es muy apreciada en los países mediterráneos, en los que la leche es una producción fundamental. Además, muchos aspectos de los productos de las razas caprinas locales son prácticamente desconocidos. En este estudio se analizó la calidad de 50 animales de 5 razas caprinas (una lechera y 4 de aptitud cárnica) y de 19 corderos (raza Churra de tipo lechero), a pesos comerciales de 4,4-6,6 kg de canal fría. Se evaluaron la calidad de la canal, el pH último y el color de la carne, siguiendo metodologías estandarizadas. Se encontraron diferencias significativas (p < 0,05) en todas las variables analizadas. Algunas de estas diferencias se podrían justificar por diferencias raciales, potencial lechero de las madres o peso canal final, pero la mayor parte fueron debidas a la especie considerada. Los corderos fueron diferentes, especialmente de los cabritos de razas con orientación predominantemente cárnica, en la proporción de hueso (25,0 vs. 21,3-23,7%) y color de carne más intenso (superiores valores de tono: 29,2 vs. 23,4-28,7 y saturación: 14,6 vs. 12,1-14,6). Entre las razas caprinas, la Murciano Granadina (raza de aptitud lechera) y la Blanca Celtibérica (raza cárnica) fueron las más diferentes en morfología de la canal, engrasamiento y color de carne. Las otras tres razas de aptitud cárnica (Moncaína, Negra Serrana y Pirenaica) fueron poco diferentes entre sí. Para conocer mejor a la especie caprina, las diferencias entre razas y la calidad de sus productos, son necesarios una mayor cantidad de estudios.

High oxygen modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is currently used by the industry to maintain an attractive color in fresh meat. However, it can also promote lipid oxidation and sensory changes. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of beef steaks displayed under different levels of oxygen. For that purpose, meat was stored with 50%, 60%, and 80% of oxygen for 4 and 8 d at retail conditions. A control treatment with steaks vacuum packaged, without exposure to retail display, was included, and color, lipid oxidation, organoleptic characteristics, and aroma compounds were analyzed. Steaks displayed under high oxygen MAP with 50% of oxygen showed the lowest color stability, according to hue values. Higher oxygen levels did not necessarily correspond with higher rancidity levels in the raw meat. Thiobarbituric Acid Reacting Substances (TBARS) values were higher than 2.2 mg malonaldehyde (MDA)/kg muscle in all the samples displayed for 8 d at retail conditions. These samples exhibited the highest intensities of rancid and the least intense beef odors and flavors. The ketones: 2,3-butanedione, 2-octanone, 2,3-pentanedione, 2-heptanone, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and the aldehydes: pentanal, 2-methyl-butanal, and 2-furfurylthiol, 1-octen-3-ol and 2-methylpropyl-acetate, were proposed as candidates for the aroma differences between the cooked beef steaks stored under vacuum and high oxygen packs. Practical Application: High oxygen modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is used to increase shelf-life and color at the retail level. However, oxygen deteriorates faster some quality attributes, being a contributor to lipid oxidation that could be perceived at consumption. This study attempts to find the best gas composition in a MAP in order to maintain the color, minimizing the oxidation. Aromatically relevant chemicals have been analyzed by gas olfactometry-gas chromatography as a key to measure beef oxidation after display.