Influence of Horse Age, Marinating Substances, and Frozen Storage on Horse Meat Quality

Abstract

The present study analyzed the influence of horse age, substances used for marinating, and frozen storage on the quality of horse meat. It was conducted on the samples of the longest thoracic muscle, obtained from 12 carcasses of horses (aged 4–7 and 8–12 years). Among the analyzed samples, a higher fat content (p < 0.05) was found in the meat obtained from the carcasses of older horses. The pH value of the meat samples was influenced by the treatment applied (p < 0.05). Of the substances used for marinating, malic acid caused a decrease in the pH of the meat obtained from young horses (p < 0.05). A similar effect was observed with the addition of phosphates to malic acid-marinated meat. On the other hand, the use of phosphates for marinating resulted in an increase in the pH of the meat obtained from older horses (p < 0.05). The substances used for marinating the horse meat did not significantly affect the reduction in cutting force values. Furthermore, the values of shear force, hardness, stiffness, gumminess, and chewiness of the meat increased with horse age (p < 0.05). An influence on the color parameters a* and b* of the meat was found for the interaction between age, storage period, and the type of treatment (p < 0.05). The use of lactic acid and malic acid for marinating the meat of young horses caused a decrease in the proportion of red color (4.67 and 3.43) and an increase in the proportion of yellow color (3.81 and 1.71), especially after 3 months of freezer storage. All the substances used for marinating (except for phosphates) were associated with higher (p < 0.05) thermal and forced drips of meat from the carcasses of both young and older horses during each storage period, in comparison to the control. The interaction between age and the type of treatment had an influence on the tenderness and juiciness of the horse meat (p < 0.05). In sensory evaluation, it was noted that the interaction between age and the treatment procedure influenced the tenderness and juiciness of the meat samples (p < 0.05). There is still a need for further research to increase knowledge regarding how to improve the quality of horse meat, and ultimately increase the demand from consumers and meat processing plants.

Comprehensive Analysis of the Longissimus Dorsi Transcriptome and Metabolome Reveals the Regulatory Mechanism of Different Varieties of Meat Quality

“…We detected high levels of icilin in Pingliang Red Cattle and crossbred Wagyu cattle, suggesting that icilin functions in IMF formation. The high content of malic acid in the muscles of Pingliang Red Cattle and Wagyu cross F1 generation lowers the pH, consequently reducing the shear . Phosphoric acid, produced by the breakdown of ATP, is intricately related to the freshness of fish and is a candidate marker of fish freshness, explaining the significant positive correlation between phosphoric acid and DAA and SAA in this study.…”

“…The high content of malic acid in the muscles of Pingliang Red Cattle and Wagyu cross F1 generation lowers the pH, consequently reducing the shear. 41 Phosphoric acid, produced by the breakdown of ATP, is intricately related to the freshness of fish and is a candidate marker of fish freshness, 42 explaining the significant positive correlation between phosphoric acid and DAA and SAA in this study. In addition, we speculate that phosphoric acid can improve Pingliang Red Cattle tenderness through indirect mechanisms that improve nutrient metabolism and delay anaerobic digestion.…”

Horse Carcass and Meat Quality — Current Knowledge and Research Gaps

“…The elevated myoglobin concentration in horsemeat facilitates its colour transformation, rendering it more visible to the eye compared to pork or veal, and, thus, fresh horsemeat colour stability is relatively low, shortening the shelf-life (Lorenzo et al, 2014(Lorenzo et al, , 2019Stanisławczyk et al, 2021a). It has been reported that horsemeat darkens as the animal ages, while the fat tissue turns yellowish or even orange in colour (Stanisławczyk et al, 2021b). However, the myoglobin content in horse muscle tissue increases during the first years two of life, and then decreases during the ten following years (Lorenzo et al, 2019).…”

“…Horsemeat texture is undesirable, as it exhibits extreme stringiness and hardness, particularly in older animals, even after undergoing heat treatment (Stanisławczyk et al, 2021a). This can be attributed to a higher proportion of connective tissue, specifically collagen (3.5% of the total protein content in horsemeat), compared to pork (less than 0.5%) and beef (ranges from 0.49% to 1.0%) (Stanisławczyk et al, 2021a(Stanisławczyk et al, , 2021b. Conversely, horsemeat from younger animals generally displays superior tenderness, surpassing in this aspect other meat types, especially, beef (Lorenzo et al, 2014(Lorenzo et al, , 2019Stanisławczyk et al, 2021a).…”

“…Conversely, horsemeat from younger animals generally displays superior tenderness, surpassing in this aspect other meat types, especially, beef (Lorenzo et al, 2014(Lorenzo et al, , 2019Stanisławczyk et al, 2021a). As animals age, connective tissue mechanical stability increases as a consequence of collagen crosslinking (Stanisławczyk et al, 2021a(Stanisławczyk et al, , 2021b. Consequently, collagen within the intermuscular connective tissue becomes stiffer, harder and more resistant to heat denaturation, leading to progressive meat toughening and requiring greater force for cutting (Stanisławczyk et al, 2021a).…”