Performance, meat fatty acid profile and meat colour of dairy bulls finished on grazed pasture or grass silage-based diets with similar concentrate allowances

Effect of pasture and intensive feeding systems on the carcass and meat quality of buffalo

Objective

This work was carried out to evaluate the effect of pasture (PA) feeding on buffalo meat quality compared with buffaloes reared intensively with the use of corn silage as a forage base or alternatively with polyphite meadow hay (PH).

Methods

Thirty Mediterranean bull buffaloes were distributed into three experimental diet groups: maize silage (MS), PH, and PA. The animals were slaughtered at a live weight of 250 kg, and carcass and meat quality were evaluated. After 7 days of ageing, physical and chemical parameters of longissimus thoracis muscle were determined. To evaluate lipid oxidation the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances was tested at 7 and 14 days, and also the fatty acid profile was recorded by gas chromatography.

Results

The PA group, even if it showed carcass parameters lower than those of the silage maize group, reported a good meat percentage (60.59% vs 58.46%, respectively) and lower fat percentage (p<0.001). PA-fed animals showed meat redness, and even if only on raw meat, shear force was higher than the others. Low values of conjugate linoleic acid, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and n-3 were reported in the silage maize group. Principal component analysis (PCA) clearly showed the influence of different diets on meat quality, and PCA1 and PCA2 explained 82% of the variability.

Conclusion

Buffaloes reared on PA had meat with high nutritional value even if they showed poor carcass performance compared to the animals fed on MS. Buffaloes fed on polyphite hay were in an intermediate position, similar to grazing animals, according to the same nutritional determinations.

Meat of South American camelids - Sensory quality and nutritional composition

Meat contains a range of nutrients in a highly bioavailable form and when meat is excluded from the diet, without being replaced with suitable alternatives, nutrient deficiencies may occur. For this reason, it is very important to extend our knowledge of nutrients in alternative red meats, such as that provided from the South American camelids- llama and alpaca. This review summarises the current information on the nutritional and sensory parameters of llama and alpaca meat and factors affecting quality. South American camelids produce lean carcases, with an uneven fat distribution across the carcase. Llama and alpaca meat quality traits are mostly influenced by animal nutrition, animal age and processing methods. A feeding strategy based on pasture and hay supplement of barley and alfalfa, and processing younger animals (18 months) has improved the fatty acid composition respectively in llama and alpaca meat, whereas meat colour and tenderness are influenced by processing treatments including electrical stimulation, tenderstretching and enzymatic infusion.