Qualification of Zerasca lambs: 2. Meat quality

To characterize the meat production of Zerasca lamb, an autochthonous tuscan ovine breed, an experimental research, financed by ARSIA (Regional Agency for Agricultural Development and Innovation), was carried out; the results of live performance and carcass quality are reported in previuos work. In this note, meat quality characteristics are reported. Eight sample of meat derived from loin (longissimus lumborum muscle) were analyzed as follow: pH, meat colour (L*, a*, b*, C*, H*), water holding capacity expressed as drip loss and cooking loss, chemical composition (dry matter, crude protein, ether extract and ash). The pH value of 5.5 is in the normal range to guarantee a good quality of meat; it is possible to note that the results for meat colour of Zerasca lamb agree with those reported by other authors for heavy lambs. As regard water-holding capacity, drip loss is rather high, while cooking loss results unsteady, as shown by the higher standard deviation. The meat analized results very lean, as highlighted by the low content of ether extract. The results of this trial testified the good quality of the meat derived from Zerasca lamb confirming the importance to enhance this autochthnous production.