Special Issue "Carcass and Meat Quality in Ruminants"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Guillermo Ripoll
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain
Interests: animal science; animal production; meat quality; meat products; acceptability of meat and meat products; the shelf-life of meat and meat products; ruminant production systems; ultrasound; immunocastration; animal science; cattle; consumers; near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS); carcass quality
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Begoña Panea
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Animal Production and Health Department, Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA), Agrifood Institute of Aragon-IA2 (CITA-Zaragoza University), Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
2. Agrifood Institute of Aragon-IA2 (CITA-Zaragoza University), Avda. Montañana 930, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
Interests: animal science; animal production; meat quality; meat products; meat science; shelf-life; color; texture; sensory analysis; consumer tests
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ruminant production systems are very important in many areas of the world and a key aspect of the economy and culture. Small ruminants, such as goats and sheep, play an important role in low-income areas because they can graze marginal pastures that other species cannot use. Moreover, these systems fix the population to unfavorable rural areas and even can prevent forest fires.

Food quality is a complex term that includes, in addition to safety, such intrinsic characteristics as appearance, color, texture, and flavor, which are modified by both pre- and post-mortem factors. For this Special Issue, we are interested in studies on any of these factors or preservation methods for improving the quality and shelf-life of meat. We also welcome manuscripts on carcass development, quality, and valorization. We invite the submission of original research and review articles; however, manuscripts related to extrinsic characteristics (origin, quality labels, price, etc.) of a carcass or meat do not fall into the scope of this Special Issue. We are also interested in applied research and the interaction between pre- and post-mortem factors, e.g., nutrition and preservation methods for improving the quality and conservation of a carcass and meat, and methods for assessing carcass quality (ultrasound, image analysis, etc.).

Dr. Guillermo Ripoll
Dr. Begoña Panea
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • lamb
  • beef
  • veal
  • goat
  • color
  • texture
  • nutrition
  • management
  • shelf-life
  • pre-mortem
  • post-mortem
  • meat proximal composition
  • carcass characteristics
  • morphometric measurements.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
The Inclusion of Pea in Concentrates Had Minor Effects on the Meat Quality of Light Lambs
Animals 2021, 11(8), 2385; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082385 - 12 Aug 2021
Viewed by 435
Abstract
The use of pea (Pisum sativum) has been recommended to replace soybean meal in the diet of ruminants, but it may affect meat quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the proportion of pea (0%, 10%, [...] Read more.
The use of pea (Pisum sativum) has been recommended to replace soybean meal in the diet of ruminants, but it may affect meat quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the proportion of pea (0%, 10%, 20% and 30%) in fattening concentrates fed to light lambs for 41 days on carcass colour and on the meat quality. Pea inclusion affected neither the colour of the lamb carcasses nor affected most of the parameters of the meat quality. However, the inclusion of pea affected the cholesterol content, and the 20%pea concentrate yielded meat with greater cholesterol contents than the 30%pea concentrate did (p < 0.05). The inclusion of pea had minor effects on individual FAs but affected the total saturated fatty acids (p < 0.01) and the thrombogenicity index (p < 0.05). A greater total saturated fatty acid content was recorded for the 20%pea concentrate than for the rest of the concentrates, and a greater thrombogenicity index was recorded for the 20% concentrate than for the 10%pea concentrate. The results indicated the viability of the inclusion of pea in the fattening concentrate of light lambs without impairing meat quality, with the 30%pea concentrate being the most suitable to reduce the soya-dependency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carcass and Meat Quality in Ruminants)
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Article
Fatty Acid Composition of Salami Made by Meat from Different Commercial Categories of Indigenous Dairy Cattle
Animals 2021, 11(4), 1060; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11041060 - 08 Apr 2021
Viewed by 413
Abstract
In autochthonous dairy cattle farms, the production of salami could represent an alternative commercial opportunity. Therefore, a study was carried out to investigate the fatty acid (FA) composition of salami made using the meat from grazing (GB) or housed (HB) young bulls and [...] Read more.
In autochthonous dairy cattle farms, the production of salami could represent an alternative commercial opportunity. Therefore, a study was carried out to investigate the fatty acid (FA) composition of salami made using the meat from grazing (GB) or housed (HB) young bulls and grazing adult cows (AC) of Cinisara breed. The products were manufactured by adding 20% of pork lard. Animal category influenced the FA composition, although the addition of lard mitigated the differences found in fresh meat. The salami from GB showed higher polyunsaturated FA content (p ≤ 0.01) and, in particular, a higher level of linoleic acid (p ≤ 0.05), than from other animal categories. Salami made from AC meat showed lower polyunsaturated/saturated FA ratio (p ≤ 0.05), but a better n-6/n-3 ratio compared to HB (p ≤ 0.05), due to the lower content of linoleic acid. Multivariate analysis showed an important influence of animal category on FA composition due to age, feeding system and meat fat content of animals, despite the addition of lard. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carcass and Meat Quality in Ruminants)
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Article
Carcass Traits and Meat Quality of Fat-Tailed Lambs Fed Rosemary Residues as a Part of Concentrate
Animals 2021, 11(3), 655; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030655 - 01 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 568
Abstract
Facing climate change implications on feeds unavailability, unconventional resources are being considered with a growing interest such as aromatic plant distillation residues with a two-fold object, enhancing meat quality by increasing the antioxidant properties and reducing feed prices which are often imported though [...] Read more.
Facing climate change implications on feeds unavailability, unconventional resources are being considered with a growing interest such as aromatic plant distillation residues with a two-fold object, enhancing meat quality by increasing the antioxidant properties and reducing feed prices which are often imported though expensive. Hence, this study aims to assess the effects of rosemary distillation residues (RR) incorporation in concentrate associated to two nitrogen sources as a substitute for standard concentrate on lamb’s growth, carcass traits and meat quality. For this, 24 Barbarine male lambs (3 months old, 17.83 ± 2.6 kg body weight) were divided into three groups. All lambs received individually 600 g of oat hay as roughage and 600 g of standard concentrate for control group, 600 g of concentrate based on RR and soybean meal for RRS group and 600 g of concentrate based on RR and faba bean for RRF group. After 65 days of experiment, all lambs were slaughtered. Phenolic and tocopherol intakes were significantly higher for both RR groups compared to control (p < 0.05). Growth, carcass weights, dressing percentages and non-carcass component weights were unaffected by the diet (p > 0.05). Moreover, regional and tissular compositions and meat physical properties were similar irrespective of the diet (p > 0.05). All color parameters were similar among groups (p > 0.05). However, meat produced by lambs receiving RR-based concentrate was richer on vitamin E and polyphenol contents than control lambs (p < 0.05). Rosemary by-products may substitute the standard concentrate resulting in similar lamb’s growth and carcass traits, while improving meat quality by increasing vitamin E content, which could improve its antioxidant power. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carcass and Meat Quality in Ruminants)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Influence of rearing system on carcass characteristics from suckling kids
Authors: Ripoll, G., Alcalde, M.J., Argüello, A., Córdoba, M.G. and Panea, B.
Affiliation: 1Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón CITA. Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón – IA2 CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza, 50.059 Zaragoza, Spain. 2Departamento de Ciencias Agroforestales, Universidad de Sevilla. 41.013 Crta. Utrera, Sevilla, Spain. 3Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. 35.416 Las Palmas, Spain. 4Nutrición y Bromatología. Instituto Universitario de Investigación de Recursos Agrarios (INURA). Escuela de Ingeniería Agrarias, Universidad de Extremadura. Avda. Adolfo Suarez s/n, 06007 Badajoz, España.
Abstract: Temporarily not provided

Title: Inclusion of sainfoin in dams’ diet: effect on carcass and meat quality of suckling lambs
Authors: Claudia Bigne; Margalida Joy; Sandra Lobón
Affiliation: Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria, Spain
Abstract: Temporarily not provided

Title: Predicting beef carcass fatness by an image analysis system
Authors: Jose Antonio Mendizabal
Affiliation: Universidad Pública de Navarra, Spain
Abstract: Temporarily not provided

Review Preharvest Management and Postharvest Intervention Strategies to Reduce Escherichia coli Contamination in Goat Meat 

Govind Kannan*, Ajit K. Mahapatra, and Hema L. Degala Agricultural Research Station, College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA 31030, USA
Abstract: Goat meat is the main source of animal protein in the developing countries, particularly in Asia and Africa. Goat meat consumption has also increased in the US in the recent years due to the growing ethnic population. Goat is one of the natural reservoirs of Escherichia coli. While researchers have long focused on postharvest intervention strategies to control E. coli outbreaks, recent works have also included preharvest methodologies. In goats, these include minimizing animal stress, manipulating diet a few weeks prior to processing, feeding diets high in tannins, controlling feed deprivation times while preparing for processing, and spray washing goats prior to slaughter. Postharvest intervention methods studied in small ruminant meats have included spray wash using water, organic acids, ozonated water, and electrolyzed water, use of ultraviolet (UV) light, pulsed UV-light, sonication, low-voltage electricity, organic oils, and hurdle technologies. These intervention methods show a strong antimicrobial activity and are considered environmentally friendly. However, cost-effectiveness, ease of application, and possible negative effects on meat quality characteristics must be carefully considered before adopting any intervention strategy for a given meat processing operation. Novel pre- and post-harvest intervention methods show significant potential for future applications in goat processing plants.
Key Words: E. coli; Food safety; Meat goat; Postharvest; Preharvest
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