The effect of forage-types on the fatty acid profile, lipid and protein oxidation, and retail colour stability of muscles from White Dorper lambs

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different forage-types on lamb meat quality parameters. White Dorper lambs that had grazed five forage-types, were slaughtered commercially. At 24 h post-mortem, the m. longissimus lumborum (LL) was removed from one side, sliced into three equal sub-samples, vacuum packaged and assigned to ageing periods (5, 12 or 40 days); the other side of LL was aged for 5 days. The m. adductor femoris was used for fatty acid analysis. Lambs fed chicory + arrowleaf clover had the highest concentration of health claimable omega-3 fatty acids and the lowest omega-6:omega-3 fatty acid ratio. Forage-types with higher vitamin E content showed lower lipid oxidation levels independent of ageing period. Forage-type and ageing period did not influence the redness, yellowness, chroma or reflectance ratio (630 nm ÷ 580 nm) of displayed meat. Chicory + arrowleaf clover gave the best results to improve the fatty acid content of lamb meat.