Abstract
Twenty reindeer calves (age 10 months) were included in the study. They were all fed one of two different pelleted feed mixtures ad libitum for two months before slaughter. Ten calves were fed a control diet of conventional pellets (CPD) (Renfor Bas, Lantmännen, Holmsund, Sweden) and ten calves received pellets enriched with linseed cake (LPD). The reindeer were slaughtered according to standard procedure at Arvidsjaur Renslakt AB, a reindeer slaughter plant in Arvidsjaur, Sweden. At 1 day post mortem, both longissimus dorsi (LD) muscles from each carcass were excised. The left LD was used for sensory evaluation and the right LD for colour and water-holding capacity measurements. The right LD was cut in 4 pieces that were randomly allocated to storage times of 1 day, 1, 2, or 3 weeks at + 4 °C. Samples allocated for storage were vacuum packaged. Evaluation of meat colour was carried out after each of the four storage times while drip loss/purge was registered after 1, 2, and 3 weeks storage at + 4 °C. The left LD muscles were vacuum packaged, frozen at -20 °C and kept frozen until preparation for sensory evaluation. No significant differences were found in carcass quality (carcass weight, EUROP carcass conformation and fat scores), meat colour stability and water-holding capacity of LD samples when comparing the two treatment groups LPD and CPD. However, sensory panellists judged samples from LPD fed reindeer to have a tendency (not significant) to be more tender (P= 0.06) and juicy (P=0.07) than the meat samples from CPD fed reindeer. No flavour differences were found when comparing meat samples from the two treatment groups.
Highlights
One of the main reasons to feed reindeer supplements in Sweden is to counteract the radioactive contamination caused by the nuclear accident in Chernobyl in 1986 (Åhman, 1999)
Earlier published data using the same animal material as in the present study demonstrated that the LPD pellets enriched with linseed positively affected the fatty acid composition and decreased the ratio of n-6/n-3 FA in reindeer meat (LD) compared with CPD fed reindeer (Sampels et al, 2006)
The authors suggested that these results indicated that reindeer are not able to use the omega-3 FA 18:3 provided through the linseed for synthesis of omega-3 FA such as 22:5 and 22:6 and that these long chained FA need to be ingested via the diet (Sampels et al, 2006), i.e. in this case the natural pasture
Summary
One of the main reasons to feed reindeer supplements in Sweden is to counteract the radioactive contamination caused by the nuclear accident in Chernobyl in 1986 (Åhman, 1999). It has been reported that by feeding uncontaminated feed, the levels of 137Cs in reindeer could be reduced by 87 per cent in about two months time (Åhman, 1996). This measure to reduce radioactive contamination in reindeer meat is subsidized by the Swedish State and managed and monitored by the Sami Parliament (Sami Parliament, 2009). There are still 7.2 per cent of all Swedish reindeer intended for slaughter that are fed as a result of the Chernobyl accident 25 years ago The most common types of feed used are grainbased pelleted feed mixtures, often in combination with small amounts of grass silage, hay or ground lichens (harvested in geographical areas not contaminated with 137Cs)
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