Microbial deterioration of lamb meat of portuguese origin as affected by its intrinsic properties
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abstract
In Portugal, sheep and goat meat production constitutes 2.8%
of the total meat production, with a self-sufficiency of ~82%.
The main autochthonous sheep breeds exploited for meat
production are Churra-Galega-Bragançana (CGB) and
Bordaleira-de-Entre-Douro-e-Minho (BEDM), whose quality
must be optimised in order to ensure adequate income levels
for sheep producers. The study aimed to characterise the
evolution of spoilage microorganisms in refrigerated
vacuum-packed (VP) lamb meat from BEDM and CGB
breeds; and elucidate how intrinsic properties of meat can
affect its microbial spoilage. Meat from BEDM breed
presented higher (p<.0001) populations of mesophiles, lactic
acid bacteria, Pseudomonas spp. and psychrotrophic
bacteria, since its higher ultimate pH (means: 5.77 for
BEDM vs. 5.58 for CGB) accelerated spoilage rate
(p<.0001). While water activity and protein content were not
found to modulate microbial deterioration (p>0.05), the
growth of spoilage bacteria was found to be exacerbated by
higher moisture (p<.0001) and higher ash content (p<0.001).
By contrast, a higher fat content retarded (p<.0001) the
growth of spoilage bacteria in VP lamb meat. In order to
extend the shelf-life of Portuguese-origin lamb meat, animal
handling must be enhanced to minimise pre-slaughter stress,
and a carcass classification system should be adopted
towards the selection of fatter animals and chilled carcasses
of optimal ultimate pH.
