Physicochemical characteristics during shelf life of meat of Pelibuey lamb maintained on grazing and supplemented with different levels of protein

Abstract

The physical and chemical characteristics of meat of Pelibuey sheep, during the storage period, limits the acceptance by the consumer. Pelibuey ewe lambs fed in grazing (G) and supplemented (S) with a different protein crude level (PC) were evaluated in the treatments: Control (commercial G + S), PC100 (G + S), PC120 (G + S), PC140 (G + S), and PC160 (G + S), with 130 g PC kg ^-1 MS, 100 g PC kg ^-1 MS, 120 g PC kg ^-1 MS, 140 g PC kg ^-1 MS, and 160 g PC kg ^-1 MS, respectively. The pH, texture, color, water retention capacity (WRC), and cooking loss (CL) were measured after the maturity days 1 d, 7 d, 14 d, and 21 d. The b * component of the color was higher in PC120 at 21 d. At 21 days, treatments PC120, PC140, and PC160 showed high values of WRC. The protein levels did not have substantial changes in physicochemical characteristics, but the WRC was improved with 120 g PC kg ^-1 MS, 140 g PC kg ^-1 MS, and 160 g PC kg ^-1 MS.