Suckling lamb meat quality from ewes fed with different sources of fat, during storage under display conditions

Abstract

We studied the effect of calcium soaps offered to ewes during lactation (CO, 3% Ca soap of palm oil; OLI, 3% Ca soap of olive oil; FO, 3% Ca soap of fish oil) on the microbial, physical-chemical and sensory properties of suckling lamb meat packaged with modified atmosphere packaging (80%O2:20%CO2) throughout storage; six ewes were tested per treatment. Microbial counts (Enterobacteriae, Pseudomonas spp., psychrotrophic and lactic acid bacteria), lipid oxidation (TBARS), colour coordinates (L*, a*, b*), metmyoglobin content and sensory quality were analysed on days 0, 5, 8 and 13 of storage. Throughout storage, the evolution of most parameters throughout depended on the lambs’ mothers' diet. From day 5 onward, microbial counts, as well as pigments and lipid oxidation, presented the highest values with FO. CO and OLI were rejected for poor sensory quality after 13 days, whereas FO reached the limit of rejection after 5 days. Therefore, the positive effect of increasing PUFA in sucking lamb meat via FO is limited due to a shorter shelf life.