Influence of different production systems on the sensory attributes, fatty acid composition and vitamin E concentration in meat from intact male lambs

Abstract

Sensory attributes, fatty acid composition and vitamin E concentration of meat from intact male lambs reared in four different production systems were analysed. The production systems were: I) indoor feeding with silage and concentrate; II) cultivated pasture; III) cultivated pasture with concentrate supplement; and IV) semi-natural pasture. Meat from lambs reared on semi-natural pasture tended to have stronger hay odour (p= 0.052) and leafy flavour (p= 0.078) than lamb meat from the production systems involving cultivated pasture and indoor feeding. Resistance to cutting was lower (p= 0.032) for meat from lambs reared on cultivated pasture without supplementary concentrate compared to cultivated pasture with supplemented concentrate. Production system resulted in a tendency for difference in the ratio between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. The ratio between n-6 and n-3 was affected by production system (p< 0.0001) where the indoor feeding with silage and concentrate had a higher ratio (2.64) than the other groups (cultivated pasture plus concentrate=1.96, cultivated pasture=1.45, and semi-natural pasture=1.41).  No other differences were found regarding fatty acid composition. Vitamin E concentration was higher (p< 0.0001) in all three pasture groups compared to the indoor feeding with silage and concentrate.