How to cite this paper: Ramírez-Retamal, J., et al. AbstractChilote sheep are a native breed from Chiloé Archipelago in the southern Chile. They are descendants from sheep originally introduced by the Spaniards in the 1600s, and then evolved in a harsh environment in relative isolation from the continent. There is little information about the quality of the meat of the Chilote lambs (Ch). The objective of this study was to compare the quality of Ch lamb meat with two types of marginal pastures. The two treatments were: 1) Ch lambs, naturalized grassland (n = 13) and 2) Ch lambs, rangeland (n = 11). Rangeland is composed of both grasses and native shrubs. All lambs were kept with their mothers until slaughter at 90 days of age. Instrumental color, shear force, pH levels, and chemical and fatty acid content were analyzed. The pasture type did affect the results, given that Ch lambs fed on naturalized pasture had a lower shear force and higher intramuscular fat levels whereas Ch lambs fed on rangeland pasture showed higher percentages of n-3, n-6 fatty acids and Polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, the concentrations of fatty acids were similar in both groups. The results indicated some evidences that the type of pasture of Chiloe archipelago confers specific differences of quality that could form the basis to generate a premium product.

This paper reviews two factors (breed and feed) affecting the carcass and meat quality of sheep. The quality of livestock products has acquired greater importance from the distinct perspectives of the different participants in the agricultural food chain. Consumers, producers and the industry give different levels of importance to the parameters of meat and carcass quality. Nevertheless, all the participants in the meat production chain must ensure quality to improve their competitiveness. The quality of the carcass and meat can be influenced by different factors such as breed and type of feed. The breed can influence weight, yields, and the conformation of the carcass, among other variables, as well as the pH level and the fatty acid composition of the meat, whereas the feed mainly affects carcass conformation and several physicochemical and organoleptic parameters of meat quality such as proximal composition, the fatty acid profile, tenderness and color. Consequently, the effects of breed and feed type should be considered to obtain a quality product that satisfies consumer demand.

The Chilote sheep has been developed in an isolated environment, based on grazing lands with low nutritive value belonging to small-scale producers, because of which there is little information about the use of this breed for meat production. The objective of this work was to determine the effects on lamb carcasses of two breeds with different productive purposes and fed on pastures with different nutritional quality. Three groups of lambs were used. The first and second groups were composed of 13 and 11 Chilote lambs respectively, and the third composed of six Suffolk Down lambs. Lambs remained with their mothers, the first group on naturalized pasture and the rest on rangeland. Animals were slaughtered at 90 d of age. Live weight, carcass weight and yield, and several zoometric parameters were determined, as well as the weight of commercial cuts and the muscle, bone and fat ratios. Hide and hoof weights were also measured. For the effect of breed, Chilote lamb is narrower (P ≤ 0.05) than Suffolk Down, but with a higher proportion of hide (P ≤ 0.05) and hooves (P ≤ 0.05). The type of pasture only affected hot carcass yield, which was higher in Chilote lamb with naturalized pasture than with rangeland (P ≤ 0.05). There were no effects of breed or pasture type on the main characteristics of the lamb carcasses.