Web-based survey of consumer preferences for the visual appearance of meat from suckling kids

Most suckling kids are raised on farms oriented toward cheese production, and many goat farmers’ rear kids with milk replacers. The aim of the current study was to investigate the consumer preferences for the visual appearance of meat from suckling kids reared with milk replacers or natural milk. Meat colour was the major criterion used to select meat. The meat of Cabra del Guadarrama reared with milk replacers was preferred by 72% of consumers and had a preferred lightness and hue angle. The rearing system did not influence preference through the time of display. Web-based surveys provided similar information to information recorded with live surveys using actual products instead of pictures. Meat colour appears to be a recurring intrinsic cue to assess consumer preference. In general, consumers preferred meat of light suckling kids reared on milk replacers because this meat had a high lightness and hue angle as well as a low chroma

Consumer visual appraisal and shelf life of leg chops from suckling kids raised with natural milk or milk replacer

BACKGROUND: The use of milk replacers to feed suckling kids could affect the shelf life and appearance of the meat. Leg chops were evaluated by consumers and the instrumental color was measured. A machine learning algorithm was used to relate them. The aim of this experiment was to study the shelf life of the meat of kids reared with dam's milk or milk replacers and to ascertain which illuminant and instrumental color variables are used by consumers as criteria to evaluate that visual appraisal. RESULTS: Meat from kids reared with milk replacers was more valuable and had a longer shelf life than meat from kids reared with natural milk. Consumers used the color of the whole surface of the leg chop to assess the appearance of meat. Lightness and hue angle were the prime cues used to evaluate the appearance of meat. CONCLUSION: Illuminant D65 was more useful for relating the visual appraisal with the instrumental color using a machine learning algorithm. The machine learning algorithms showed that the underlying rules used by consumers to evaluate the appearance of suckling kid meat are not at all linear and can be computationally schematized into a simple algorithm

Volatile organic compounds and consumer preference for meat from suckling goat kids raised with natural or replacers milk

Most of European Union goats are slaughtered with carcase weights between 5 kg and 11 kg. Some farmers rear kids with milk replacers to produce cheese with the dams’ milk. The aim of this experiment was to study the volatile compounds (VOCs) of meat of suckling light kids reared with natural milk or milk replacers and to study the influence of consumers’ psychographic characteristics on the sensory preference for meat. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was performed to identify the VOCs and consumers evaluated the flavour, juiciness and overall acceptability. Thirty-five VOCs were detected and 44.3%, 25.1%, 6.9% and 2.3%, were aldehydes, hydrocarbons, ketones and alcohols, respectively. The influence of the rearing system on VOCs clearly depended on the breed. The use of milk replacers did not affect the percentage of linear aldehydes compared to the use of natural milk. However, the major aldehyde, hexanal (34.8%), was related to the use of natural milk and correlated positively with both the flavour (r = 0.21) and overall acceptability (r = 0.24). On the other hand, hydrocarbons such as hexane were related to MR, and 2-methyl-pentane and 3-methyl pentane were correlated with the acceptability of flavour (r = −0.22 and −0.25, respectively) and with the overall acceptability (r = −0.21 and −0.24). The 2-penthyl furan and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol were correlated with the overall acceptability (r = −0.22 and −0.22, respectively). Therefore, the acceptability of meat from suckling kids fed natural milk was greater for older consumers and people with a moderate consumption of meat.Unión Europea, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO). [RTA2012-0023-C03]; CYTED [116RT0503

Effect of rearing system on the straight and branched fatty acids of goat milk and meat of suckling kids

Goat meat is considered healthy because it has fewer calories and fat than meat from other traditional meat species. It is also rich in branched chain fatty acids that have health advantages when consumed. We studied the effects of maternal milk and milk replacers fed to suckling kids of four breeds on the straight and branched fatty acid compositions of their muscle. In addition, the proximal and fatty acid compositions of colostrum and milk were studied. Goat colostrum had more protein and fat and less lactose than milk. Goat milk is an important source of healthy fatty acids such as C18:1 c9 and C18:2 n-6. Suckling kid meat was also an important source of C18:1c9. Dairy goat breeds had higher percentages of trans monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and most of the C18:1 isomers but lower amounts of total MUFAs than meat breeds. However, these dairy kids had meat with a lower percentage of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) than meat kids. The meat of kids fed natural milk had higher amounts of CLA and branched chain fatty acids (BCFAs) and lower amounts of n-6 fatty acids than kids fed milk replacers. Both milk and meat are a source of linoleic, á-linolenic, docosahexaenoic, eicosapentaenoic and arachidonic fatty acids, which are essential fatty acids and healthy long-chain fatty acids

La calidad de la canal en cabritos de raza Murciano-Granadina

En la búsqueda de dotar a la raza Murciano-Granadina de una base científica que justifique una potencial protección de sus productos, el grupo de investigación AGR-218 viene realizando un profundo estudio de las características productivas cárnicas de dicha raza. A pesar de que hasta el momento la canal de sus cabritos no vaya más allá de ser un subproducto de la producción láctea de esta raza, el nuevo escenario generado tanto por la PAC (Política Agraria Comunitaria) como por la globalización ha incentivado la búsqueda de mayores ingresos económicos en las explotaciones caprinas lecheras. Una completa definición de la calidad de la canal de los cabritos de raza Murciano-Granadina podría ayudar a incrementar su valor para así dejar de ser un mero subproducto de la cadena de producción lechera. En nuestro estudio se emplearon un total de 61 cabritos de ambos sexos sacrificados de acuerdo a la tradición local, en términos de edad y pesos. Además, el hecho de que los cabritos procedieran de tres sistemas de explotación distintos (extensivo, intensivo con lactancia natural e intensivo con lactancia artificial) nos permitió analizar las variaciones ocasionadas en la calidad canal como consecuencia del sistema de explotación

Retinol and alpha-Tocopherol Contents, Fat Color, and Lipid Oxidation as Traceability Tools of the Feeding System in Suckling Payoya Kids

Simple Summary In Spain, goat farms are mainly oriented to milk production, although kid meat contributes to their sustainability, particularly in autochthonous breeds such as Payoya. Usually, kids are fed artificial milk until slaughter, allowing the use of goat milk for the commercialization of cheese, but several studies indicate that feeding kids natural milk improve the quality of their meat. The aim of the present study was to find traceability markers to discriminate between kids that are fed natural milk (with different goat management systems) and those fed a milk replacer. For this purpose, we proposed the quantification of retinol and alpha-tocopherol contents in plasma and fat, the amount of kidney fat, lipid oxidation, and some fat color parameters as potential markers. The results showed that plasma retinol concentrations were higher in kids fed feeding systems with synthetic vitamins. The plasma alpha-tocopherol concentrations were higher in kids fed grass-based feeding systems (which contain the natural forms of these vitamins). A dilution effect was shown for the retinol concentration in fat. Collectively, the analyzed variables allowed a discriminant analysis to correctly classify kids according to their feeding system and could ensure traceability to consumers. The effects of Payoya kid feeding systems on the fat-soluble vitamin (retinol/alpha-tocopherol) contents, fat content, fat color, and the oxidation index were evaluated to determine their potential for use as feeding system traceability tools. Four groups of Payoya kids (55 animals in total) fed milk exclusively were studied: a group fed a milk replacer (MR) and three groups fed natural milk from dams reared with different management systems (mountain grazing (MG), cultivated meadow (CM) and total mixed ration (TMR)). Kids were slaughtered around one month of age and 8 kg of live weight. Kids from the MG and CM groups presented lower retinol (5.56 and 3.72 mu g/mL) and higher alpha-tocopherol plasma (11.43 and 8.85 mu g/mL) concentrations than those from the TMR and MR groups (14.98 and 22.47 mu g/mL of retinol; 2.49 and 0.52 mu g/mL of alpha-tocopherol, respectively) (p < 0.001). With respect to fat, kids with a higher intramuscular fat percentage (CM and TMR groups) had lower retinol contents (16.52 and 15.99 mu g/mL, respectively) than kids from the MG and MR groups (26.81 and 22.63 mu g/mL, respectively) (p < 0.001). A dilution effect of vitamins on fat was shown: the higher the amount of fat, the lower the vitamin concentrations, the higher the lipid oxidation index (MDA), and the lower the SUM (absolute value of the integral of the translated spectra between 450 and 510 nm). A discriminant analysis that included all studied variables showed that 94.4% of the kids were classified correctly according to their feeding system and could allow traceability to the consumer

Origin and standing of Canary Black Pig

We summarize the historical information about origin of Canary Black Pig and standing in the Canary Islands. The presence of pig in Canary Islands is from 500 year b.C., where aborigines used its meat as food, its fat to preserve foods, its skin as clothing and its bones to produce tools and adornments. The census is constituted for 283 animals, 182 females and 101 males, with a major representation in Tenerife and Gran Canaria islands, 173 and 71 animals respectively.A través de la documentación histórica del Archipiélago Canario, se ha esbozado el origen del Cerdo Negro Canario, a la vez que se expone su estado actual en las diferentes islas del archipiélago. La presencia del cerdo data desde hace 2500 años en el Archipiélago Canario, donde los aborígenes utilizaron su carne como alimento, su manteca para conservas, su piel para vestimenta y sus huesos para fabricación de útiles y adornos. El censo lo constituyen unos 283 ejemplares, 182 hembras y 101 machos, y su mayor representación está en las islas de Tenerife y de Gran Canaria con 173 y 71 animales respectivamente

Efecto del sistema de lactancia sobre la calidad de la canal y de la carne de la cabra de Guadarrama

La alimentación del cabrito lechal con leche artificial reduce los costes de alimentación y posibilita buenos crecimientos. Sin embargo, algunos ganaderos prefieren alimentar a los cabritos con leche natural porque creen que esto incrementa la calidad de la carne. El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar la influencia del sistema de lactancia (natural vs artificial) sobre la canal, el color de los músculos Rectus abdominis, Longissimus thoracis y la grasa renal de los cabritos de la Cabra del Guadarrama. El uso de los sistemas de lactancia artificial en la Cabra del Guadarrama fue válido para obtener canales comerciales similares en tamaño a las de lactancia natural, si bien estas últimas tuvieron mayor peso y más cantidad de grasa renal. El color de la grasa no se vio afectado por la presencia de pigmentos carotenoides en la grasa provenientes de la alimentación de las madres de lactancia natural. La luminosidad de los músculos Rectus abdominis y Longissimus thoracis fue mayor en la lactancia artificial. En las condiciones de manejo de este ensayo y basándonos en el pH del músculo, los cabritos de Cabra del Guadarrama son menos estresables que los de otras razas.INIA RTA2012- 23-C03-0

Use of clinic refractometer at farm as a tool to estimate the IgG content in goat colostrum

peer-reviewedRefractometry has been proposed as a farm technique to estimate the IgG concentration in colostrum. In order to validate the method in goat colostrum using a clinical refractometer, 216 colostrum and milk samples were obtained from 54 dairy goats. Samples were evaluated for protein concentration using a clinical refractometer and IgG concentration was measured using a commercial ELISA. The r2 for the linear regression between refractometry value and IgG concentration measured by ELISA was 0.79, and the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.99. The proposed cut-off value using the clinical refractometer was 10 mg/mL. At this point, the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value, Youden’s index and accuracy were 100%, 95.19%, 100%, 76.32%, 0.95% and 95.83%, respectively

Parámetros de calidad de la canal y la carne de cabritos lechales de raza payoya en sistema de explotación convencional

En el trabajo se han elegido 24 cabritos pertenecientes a la raza Payoya, 12 machos y 12 hembras con el objeto de comparar los parámetros de la calidad de la canal y de la carne. Los resultados nos muestran que aunque existen algunas diferencias en algunas medidas de calidad de la carne (pH, CRA, L*, a*, b*, C y Hº), el resto de los parámetros estudiados no presentaron diferencias significativas entre los dos sexos