Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/2714
Title: Effects of animal age on the eating quality of sheep meat
Contributor(s): Pethick, D W (author); Hopkins, D L (author); D'Souza, D N (author); Thompson, John Mitchell  (author); Walker, P J (author)
Publication Date: 2005
DOI: 10.1071/EA03256
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/2714
Abstract: The aim of this work was to test the effects of animal age on consumer perceptions of sheep meat quality. Experiment 1 tested eating quality scores (tenderness, liking of flavour, juiciness and overall liking) derived from untrained consumers of grilled 'M. longissimus lumborum' (LL) or 'M. biceps femoris' (BF) derived from Merino ewes ranging from 8.5 to 68.5 months of age. The ewes were derived from one farm and all received a pelleted diet (60% hay, 30% lupin grain and 10% barley grain) that sustained growth between 118 and 173 g/day for at least 22 days pre-slaughter. In experiment 2 consumer testing of grilled LL and roasted BF and 'M. semimembranosis' (SM) was conducted on a commercial line of 12-month-old White Suffolk × Merino lambs (0 erupted incisor teeth) v. a line of Merino yearling sheep about 22 months old (with either 2 or 4 erupted incisor teeth). The results of experiment 1 showed a significant effect of muscle (LL>BF, P<0.001) and a cubic effect of animal age on the consumer scores for grilled steaks. The cubic relationship was due to meat from lamb (8.5 months) and hogget (20 months) having higher scores than those of older animals. There was a close relationship between the objective measures of tenderness and the consumer tenderness score (r2 = 0.53, P<0.001). Results of experiment 2 indicated no significant difference between the grilled LL for the crossbred lamb and 22-month-old (2–4 teeth) Merino yearling sheep. However, the consumer scores for the roasted BF and SM were significantly depressed in the 2–4 tooth yearling Merino categories. In conclusion, this work clearly underpins the current Australian definition of lamb, lamb having better eating-quality attributes than older animals with fully erupted permanent incisor teeth, particularly in muscles from across the carcass. However, this work also highlights the eating quality attributes of older sheep (6 or more permanent incisor teeth) particularly for the LL, and suggests that negative influences of flavour associated with older sheep meat are minimal when the product is served in the absence of subcutaneous and intermuscular fat. Finally, the results suggest the possibility of a new 'yearling' sheep meat category based on animals in the 2–4-tooth dentition category.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 45(5), p. 491-498
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Place of Publication: Australia
ISSN: 1446-5574
0816-1089
1836-5787
1836-0939
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 070203 Animal Management
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 830310 Sheep - Meat
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Publisher/associated links: http://nla.gov.au/anbd.bib-an4599774
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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