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  • Differences in Meat Quality...
    van Wyk, Gertruida L; Hoffman, Louwrens C; Strydom, Phillip E; Frylinck, Lorinda

    Animals, 02/2022, Volume: 12, Issue: 3
    Journal Article

    Various meat quality characteristics of six muscles ( (LTL), (SM), (BF), (SS), (IS), (ST)) from large-frame Boer Goats (BG) and Indigenous Veld Goats (IVG: Cape Speckled and the Cape Lob Ear) were studied. Weaner male BG ( = 18; 10 bucks and 8 wethers) and IVG ( = 19; 9 bucks and 10 wethers) were raised on hay and natural grass, and on a commercial pelleted diet to a live weight of 30-35 kg. All goats were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir and the dressed carcasses were chilled at 4 °C within 1 h post mortem. The muscles were dissected from both sides 24 h post mortem and aged for 1 d and 4 d. Variations in meat characteristics such as ultimate pH, water holding capacity (WHC), % purge, myofibril fragment length (MFL), intramuscular fat (IMF), connective tissue characteristics, and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) were recorded across muscles. Bucks had higher lightness (L*) and hue-angle values, whereas wethers had increased redness (a*) and chroma values. The muscle baseline data will allow informed decisions to support muscle-specific marketing strategies, which may be used to improve consumer acceptability of chevon.