Qualitative characteristics of meat of buffaloes slaughtered in two ages and submitted to different periods of ageing

• Grant number: 12/09733-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2012
• End date: October 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Production
• Principal Investigator: Cristiana Andrighetto
• Grantee: Cristiana Andrighetto
• Host Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental de Dracena. Dracena , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Andre Mendes Jorge

Abstract

The buffalo cattle is growing in almost all regions of the country, representing a more economic option for farmers, mainly due to the good adaptability of these animals to different Brazilian climatic conditions. Therefore, it is important to promote this activity in Brazil, but to conquer that consumer preference, buffalo meat must come from young animals and have great meat quality aspects. Thus, evaluation of parameters related to buffalo meat quality is extremely important, mainly due to ageing, since this is intended to improve the organoleptic characteristics of the meat. There are no studies evaluating the effect of the best point of maturation in the flesh of buffaloes in relation to quality. Due to these aspects, this research project will aim to evaluate the effects of maturation on the quality of buffalo meat, and find the optimal point of aging for the species. To this will be used 20 buffaloes divided into two groups: G1 consisted of 15 animals aged 22-26 months and G2 consisting of 15 animals aged 36-40 months. The animals will be slaughtered in commercial abattoir and the carcasses shall be identified, weighed and refrigerated for 24 hours. After 24 hours of cooling will be measured the area of eye muscle, the subcutaneous fat thickness, marbling score and pH. Will be collected the samples of Longissimus dorsi, which are vacuum packed in plastic bags special and aged for 0, 7, 14 and 21 days. The analysis evaluated the meat samples are mature color, shear force, weight loss by cooking, myofibrillar fragmentation index, collagen, pH, centesimal composition, fatty acid profile, sensorial analysis and cholesterol. The data will be subjected to statistical analysis using the program R (R Development Core Team, 2006). (AU)