Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
MEAT QUALITY AND HUMAN HEALTH
Quality of food may be considered as a collection of
factors that result in the food being safe, nutritious, palat-
able, and acceptable to consumers. Consumers consider
that meat products will be safe for consumption. Even
though meat from healthy animals can be considered free
of pathogenic microorganisms and diseases that would
cause foodborne and other illnesses in humans, sanitation
and hygienic practices during slaughter, fabrication, pro-
cessing, and distribution channels are essential to maintain
the wholesomeness of goat meat. The nutritional, palat-
ability, and acceptability traits may have different ranges
of expectations by consumers, but quality is directly asso-
ciated with the intended usage.
sensory tenderness was not different with diet, and there
were no shear force or sensory tenderness differences in
Biceps femoris
from goats on browse, pasture, or concen-
trate diets (Solaiman et al., 2006). No differences in total
collagen in loin muscles of goats fed different diets were
found (Lee et al., 2008). Leg and back muscles from
female goats had lower shear force and would be expected
to be more tender than the same muscles from wethers and
intact males (Johnson et al., 1995b). The tenderness of leg
muscles from yearling goats was less for both females
and males than the meat from kid goats as determined by
shear force and consumer panels (McMillin et al., 1998).
Different muscles will have differing amounts of connec-
tive tissue and muscle fi ber types that infl uence tenderness.
The
Longissimus dorsi
and
Biceps femoris
muscle were
slightly more tender than the
Semimembranosus
and
Adductor
muscles (Johnson et al., 1995b). Shear force was
less in
L. dorsi
than
Semimembranosus
and
Triceps brachii
(Kannan et al., 2001). The eleven largest muscles from the
goat were characterized for linear dimensions, color, and
shear force. Tenderness varied with muscle type, but was
not different with moist or dry cookery methods (McMillin
and Brock, 2004). Other factors of breed, muscle type, and
processing conditions will infl uence shear force and ten-
derness (Webb et al., 2005).
Goat Meat Palatability and Acceptability
The characteristics of water binding, color, texture/tender-
ness, juiciness, and fl avor highly infl uence the purchase
and palatability of meat.
C
OLOR
Color and other shelf-life characteristics decline with
increased storage time. Goat shoulder and arm cuts were
reddest, with highest chroma (color saturation) and lowest
hue (redness and yellowness), compared to cuts from other
carcass locations. Surface discoloration of packaged cuts
occurred within 4-8 days, with case-life similar to other
red meat species (Kannan et al., 2001 ). Color of
Longissimus
dorsi
muscles from kid goats fed pasture were lighter than
muscles from goats fed mimosa browse while color of
muscles from kid goats fed concentrate were less yellow
than muscles from goats fed pasture or browse. There were
no differences in redness of muscle color due to goat diet
(Solaiman et al., 2006 ). Hay and hay - concentrate diets
produced lighter and more yellow color of loin muscles
than concentrate diets for 45 days, but there were no dif-
ferences in redness (Lee et al., 2008).
F
LAVOR
Flavor of cooked goat meat can be more intense and
“goaty” with increased animal age and higher levels of
nutrition, resulting in lower acceptability (Webb et al.,
2005). Flavor of goat meat from kid goats was liked more
than meat from yearling goats (McMillin et al., 1998). The
tenderness perception of goat leg meat was not affected by
panelist age, sex, or ethnicity, but palatability was lowest
with the youngest consumers and consumers with the
highest incomes (Dawkins et al., 2000). Leg chops were
less juicy and tender than loin steaks, with higher scores
given by foreign sensory panelists than domestic panelists
(Griffi n et al., 1992). The juiciness, fl avor intensity, and
off fl avor of
Semimembranosus
and
Biceps femoris
from
goats fed Bahia grass pasture, mimosa browse, or concen-
trate were not different (Solaiman et al., 2006).
T
ENDERNESS
AND
J
UICINESS
Tenderness and juiciness decline with age of goats.
Tenderness is infl uenced by collagen and muscle fi bers,
with collagen content higher, solubility lower, muscle
fi brils thicker, and bundles larger than sheep, giving a
coarse texture (Webb et al., 2005). Proportions of cross-
linking of collagen in muscle cause decreases in collagen
solubility upon cooking, which decreases tenderness
(Warmington and Kirton, 1990). Shear force of
Semimembranosus
in goats fed concentrates were lower
than in the muscles from goats fed pasture or browse, but
C
OMPARISON
OF
G
OAT
M
EAT
TO
O
THER
M
EAT
Goat meat and goat meat products have been compared
with meat and products from other species. Goat meat may
be referred to as chevon, much the same as pig meat is
called pork. The juiciness of goat meat was the same, but
tenderness and overall satisfaction were less than pork,
beef, and lamb at comparable maturity and fatness (Smith
