Research Institute for the Biology of Farm Animals, Dummerstorf, Germany1, Research Institute

Influence of breed and production system on meat quality and fatty acid composition in lamb muscle Summary The objective of the study was to optimise the production of high quality sheep meat under different production Systems and to increase the concentration of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in muscle of lambs. Thirty-four male crossbred lambs (Texel x Bleu du Maine) with an initial live weight of 20 kg were used in the experiment. The lambs were randomly divided into three groups (group 1:14 weaning lambs fed intensively with concentrate, group 2: 13 suckling lambs kept on pasture, group 3: 7 weaning lambs kept on pasture). Animals were slaughtered at an average live weight of 40 kg. The carcass weight, the daily gain and the longissimus muscle area were significantiy (P <0.05) lower in weaning lambs kept on pasture (group 3) compared to concentrate fed lambs (group 1). The concentration of total n-3 fatty acids was significantiy (P <0.05) increased up to 83 mg/100 g muscle in lambs kept on pasture compared to 33 mg/100 g in animals fed concentrate. The ratio of n-6 and n-3 fatty acids was beneficially low as well as in concentrate fed lambs (7:1) and in grazing lambs (2:1). In the second experiment 12 Suffolk crossbred lambs and 11 purebred Roughwool Pommeranian Landrace (RPL