ABSTRACT Consumers continue to desire leaner meats. Lambs expressing the callipyge gene have been identified as having superior, leaner carcasses compared with normally muscled lambs. However, the longissimus muscle, a major merchandised muscle in lamb, has repeatedly been shown to be significantly less tender in callipyge lamb compared with normally muscled lambs. Preharvest factors, such as genetics, sex, and production/management practices, have thus far shown no promise at alleviating this tenderness problem. But a number of postharvest interventions have been introduced to alleviate it. Included among the strategies are postmortem aging, carcass electrical stimulation, the combination of freezing and thawing before aging, calcium chloride injection, and the Hydrodyne process. These strategies have exhibited various degrees of success. Postharvest strategies to improve callipyge longissimus tenderness are described in this article.
Implications Preharvest factors, such as genetics, sex, and production/management practices have shown very little promise for eliminating the tenderness problem associated with the longissimus muscle from callipyge lamb. Several postharvest intervention strategies that have been introduced to alleviate this tenderness problem have been shown to be quite successful. Either the Hydrodyne treatment or CaCl2 injection in conjunction with an aging period seems to be a viable method for improving the tenderness of the callipyge loin. The recently introduced freezing/thawing/aging approach may also be a promising alternative for improving the tenderness of the callipyge loin.
Key Words: Callipyge, Lamb (meat), Tenderness
© 1999, by the American Society of Animal Science and the American Dairy Science Association. All rights reserved.
AM Symp. 238-242