Breed and Nutrition Effects on Meat Quality and Retail Color after Lamb Pre-Slaughter Stress

Abstract

The main objective of this research was to investigate the interactions between breed, nutrition and pre-slaughter stress, and the potential impacts on the meat quality and retail color/shelf life of lamb meat. Forty-eight Merino and second cross (Merino × Border Leicester) × Poll Dorset lambs were allocated to 2 dietary treatments: low energy diet (LE; 7.8 MJ ME/kg and 12% CP) vs. high energy (HE; 11.8 MJ ME/kg and 12% CP). Samples of longissimus lumborum (LL), and rectus femoris (RF) were taken 15 min post-slaughter for glycogen and lactate determination. pH and temperature of muscle samples were recorded at 0.5, 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, and 24 h post-mortem. Muscle LL samples from the same side were collected at 24 h post slaughter for tenderness, cooking loss and retail color assessment. For retail color stability, the selected portion of muscle LL was sliced to create a fresh surface, placed on a tray and over wrapped. Color measurements were made fresh (after a 30 min bloom at 4°C, d 1) and then on d 3 and 6 of display, using a Hunter lab spectrophotometer XE Plus. Second-cross lambs on HE had the highest muscle glycogen at slaughter for both LL and RF. For the RF, the pHu values were elevated in Merinos on both LE and HE diets and 2X on the LE diet. Only for 2X lamb was the HE diet sufficient to reduce the pHu. HE diet reduced blood lactate in 2X lambs and elevated in Merinos. Merinos produced tougher meat at 6 d post-slaughter, which was also reflected by higher cooking losses. Both breeds of lambs on the LE diet had longer color shelf-life (higher R630/580) than the lambs on the HE diets.