Preliminary Evaluation of Slaughter Value and Carcass Composition of Indigenous Sheep and Goats from Traditional Production System in Tanzania

The aim of the pilot study was to evaluate slaughter characteristics and carcass composition of indigenous long fat tailed sheep and Small East African goats purchased from the auction markets slaughtered at 1.5 to 2 yrs of age and 20 kg to 25 kg live weight. The animals were slaughtered according to halal standard procedures. The left half carcasses were jointed into eight wholesale joints, and dissected into muscles, fat and bone, which were weighed separately. Sheep had greater (p<0.05) slaughter BW (22.29 kg vs 20.50 kg) and empty BW (20.17 kg vs 18.67 kg) than goats (p<0.05). Dressing percentages were lower (p<0.001) in sheep than goats when carcass weight was expressed as percentage of slaughter BW (42.31% and 47.15%) and empty BW (46.75% and 51.79%). Sheep carcasses had lower (p<0.001) proportion (66.18% vs 71.64%) of muscles and higher (p<0.001) proportion of fat (7.41% vs 3.44%) than goat carcasses. Sheep had proportionally lighter (p<0.001) shoulder (18.89% vs 22.68%) and heavier (p<0.05) proportion of chump (7.916% vs 6.76%) and main rib (8.12% vs 7.07%). Sheep had more (p<0.001) muscles in the leg (28.83% vs 27.08%) and main rib (7.62% vs 6.36%) than goats. Sheep had less (p<0.001) muscles (20.28% vs 23.56%) in shoulder joints when expressed as percentage of total muscle of carcasses. It is concluded that there are differences in sheep and goat both in terms of carcass and joint yields and composition. The present study also implies that there is need to consider setting different meat cuts and prices for these cuts when one takes into account the differences in muscle distribution within joints in sheep and goats

Chemical Composition and Meat Quality Attributes of Indigenous Sheep and Goats from Traditional Production System in Tanzania

The aim of the study was to compare chemical composition and quality attributes of meat between male long fat tailed sheep (n = 17) and Small East African goats (n = 17) existing in Tanzania. Animals of 1.5 to 2 yrs in age and live body weight of 22.59±0.50 kg were purchased from livestock auction markets. Animals were fasted for 18 h and slaughtered according to standard halal procedure. Left carcasses were dissected into muscles, fat and bone and the muscle and fat were mixed together and chemically analysed. Meat quality attributes were measured based on Muscle longissimus thoracis et lumborum excised from right sides of carcasses. Goat carcasses had significant higher (p = 0.0302) moisture content (70.65% vs 66.96%) and lower (p = 0.0027) ether extract (2.49% vs 5.82%) than sheep but there was no significant species differences in protein and ash content. Sheep had lower (p = 0.0157) ultimate pH (5.74 vs 5.88) and higher (p = 0.0307) temperature (3.77°C vs 3.15°C) than goat carcasses. Sheep meat had lower (p = 0.0021) shear force values (29.83 N vs 34.07 N) than goat. Within species, at day 9 of ageing, meat tenderness improved (p = 0.0001) by 44.63% and 34.18% for sheep and goat. Pooled data showed that at d 9 of ageing, meat tenderness improved (p = 0.0001) by 39.25% (from 39.54 N to 24.02 N) compared to tenderness of meat which was not aged at day one of slaughter. The present study demonstrated the differences in chemical composition and quality attributes of meat existing between sheep and goats originated from East Africa