Effect of the Type of Pasture on the Meat Characteristics of Chilote Lambs

Abstract

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.

The Effect of Extensive Feeding Systems on Growth Rate, Carcass Traits, and Meat Quality of Finishing Lambs

“…These differences can be attributed to several factors such as breed, sex, age, differences in pasture feeding value, physical exercise, and selectivity on the part of the animal mainly when raised on mixed pastures. However, some authors did not find differences in hot carcass weight (Hopkins and others ; Ramirez‐Retamal and others ; De Brito and others ), GR fat depth (Hopkins and others , ; Hopkins and Nicholson ; Masters and others ), fat C (Hopkins and others ; Hopkins and Nicholson ; De Brito and others ), and eye muscle area (Fraser and others ; Masters and others ; De Brito and others ) between the forage types studied.…”

“…Carcass weight, yield, and fat measurements are parameters of great importance to producers, since the carcass yield describes the proportion of live weight attributed to carcass weight expressed as a percentage (Sañudo and others ), and the weight and fat measurement can determine the price paid for lamb carcasses (Gardner and others ). When lambs fed different forage types were evaluated, several authors found differences in carcass characteristics for lambs grazed on different pastures: hot carcass weight (Hopkins and others , ; Hopkins and Nicholson ; Campbell and others ), fat score (Hopkins and others ), IMF (Ramirez‐Retamal and others ), and fatness (GR site situated 110 mm from the midline over the 12th rib.) (Pearce and others ; De Brito and others ).…”

Protein profile and physicochemical characteristics of meat of lambs fed diets supplemented with rapeseed oil, fish oil, carnosic acid, and different chemical forms of selenium

“…Nevertheless, meat quality can be determined in a more unbiased way by evaluating such properties of meat as chemical composition, pH value, tenderness, water-holding capacity, and color. Those properties can, however, be affected by genetic and environmental factors (Ramírez-Retamal et al, 2014).…”

Evaluation of Zackel Lamb Meat Quality with the Aim of Increasing the Conservation Value of the Breed

“…Lamb meat consumption in children with atopic dermatitis and multiple food hypersensitivity has resulted in signifi cant clinical improvements. Lamb meat has a special importance in infant nutrition, because it provides a unique [19][20][21][22]. These analyzes have shown that many factors in the production, such are diet, age of weaning, breed, sex and body weight, have effects on muscle fatty acid composition and sensory characteristics of lamb meat [15,23].…”

“…These analyzes have shown that many factors in the production, such are diet, age of weaning, breed, sex and body weight, have effects on muscle fatty acid composition and sensory characteristics of lamb meat [15,23]. The interaction between a breed and environmental conditions could play an important role in the variability of fatty acid composition and sensory characteristics of lamb meat [21,23,24]. Within the aim of biodiversity conservation, these facts emphasize the importance of collecting environmental data relevant for production characteristics and provide a comprehensive description of traditional habitat, such as specifi c botanical biodiversity in which animals are reared [14,[24][25][26][27].…”