Basic chemical characteristics of fresh, non-packed and vacuum-packed sheep-tail and tail-fat stored frozen for different periods

Abstract

Fatty tails were obtained after the slaughter of Morkaraman sheep, which are a common breed of fatty-tailed sheep in Turkey. Fat obtained from sheep tails, (called tail-fat) is used either in fresh condition or after frozen storage. This fat is commonly used as a food source in many countries in which fat-tail sheep breeds are raised; but there has been no detailed research on fatty tails or the tail-fat. In this work some quality criteria such as water, fat and nitrogen content, 2-thiobarbituric acid and peroxide numbers, free fatty acids, melting point, iodine and saponification numbers were studied in sheep tails and sheep tail-fat, both in the fresh condition and after storage at −18 ± 1°C for up to 60 days. The effect of vacuum packaging versus storage in netting bags (no-protection, non-packed), was also determined. The fat content of the tails was around 94%. Thus, the tail is a concentrated fat source. Some quality criteria of the tail and the tail-fat were determined and are given in the text. Overall results indicated that both the tail and the tail-fat can be effectively used in various types of food and food processing, especially after performing some technological and refining processing. If the fatty tail has to be stored, it should be vacuum packed and stored frozen. At −18°C, vacuum-packed tail samples could be stored around 45 days, but in the netting bags, this storage period should not exceed 30 days.