Effect of slaughter age and finishing diet on sensory evaluation and consumers’ preference of foal meat

Aim of study: This study focused on the sensory evaluation and consumer preferences of foal meat depending on the animal slaughter age (13 and 26 months) and finishing diet (standard and linseed concentrate).Area of study: It was developed in two localities in the north of Spain: Orense and Pamplona.Material and methods: The sensory study was conducted by a 10-member trained and a 474-consumer panel.Main results: The trained panel described meat from both, 13 and 26-months old foals similar between each other. On the contrary, consumers considered meat from the younger group to be juicier and tenderer, being juiciness and tenderness (p<0.05), the most important clues for their global acceptance. No differences were found in either the trained or the consumer panel due to the finishing diet. The consumers test was carried out in two Spanish cities (Pamplona and Orense. Two scenarios were considered: without and with supplementary information about the foal meat production. The additional information disclosed about foal meat had a positive effect on Pamplona consumers’ assessments.Research highlights: City and information level are essential factors to introduce foal meat in the market. The lack of knowledge about foal meat and its low presence in meat markets make it necessary to develop further sensory studies; to obtain foal meat description patterns, and to get to know consumers’ likings

Prediction of foal individual primal cuts yield using video image analysis

The aim of this work was to use video image analysis (VIA) technology to predict the individual primal cuts of the equine carcass. For this study, a total of 42 foal carcasses were dissected into eight primal cuts (shoulder, top blade, chuck tender, chuck, neck, blade, fore shank and brisket) from the forequarter (FQ) and eleven primal cuts (full plate, loin, tenderloin, topside, eye of round, hind shank, knuckle, flank steak, tri-tip, silverside and heel of round) from the hindquarter (HQ). The proportion of primal cuts in the total carcass ranged from 0.27% to 4.84% for the blade and shoulder in the FQ, and from 0.97% to 8.60% for the heel of round and full plate in the HQ, respectively. The neck and fore shank were the cuts for which the estimation models were most accurate in the models. These included cold carcass weight (CCW) and VIA measurements obtained in both views and had a prediction to deviation (RPD) values of 1.85 and 1.90, respectively. On the other hand, the prediction of the topside cut was the one that presented high accuracy (k-fold-R2 = 0.829) and precision (RMSEcv = 0.23%) with a RPD of 2.85, which suggests a very good predictive ability of the model. Finally, it can be concluded that it is possible to explain the variation of the primal cuts yield in foals with CCW and VIA measurements, and to use this technique as a prediction tool

Horsemeat: Increasing Quality and Nutritional Value

The characteristics of meat obtained from horses and donkeys are discussed in this chapter. Higher nutritional value, particularly the low-fat content, and higher proportion of health-related fatty acids are the main characteristics that support the role of equine meat as potential substitute of bovine meat. The current productive system is considered as main factor to influence equine meat quality

Horsemeat: Increasing Quality and Nutritional Value

The characteristics of meat obtained from horses and donkeys are discussed in this chapter. Higher nutritional value, particularly the low-fat content, and higher proportion of health-related fatty acids are the main characteristics that support the role of equine meat as potential substitute of bovine meat. The current productive system is considered as main factor to influence equine meat quality