Fatty Acid Composition and Hedonic Ratings of Meat from Light Lambs of Leccese Breed in Relation to Slaughter Age

Twenty lambs from Leccese local breed were used to investigate the effect of two slaughter ages (45 vs 60 d) on fatty acid composition and hedonic ratings of meat. The lambs, born as singles in spring, were subdivided into two groups (n. 10) corresponding to the slaughter ages of 45 and 60 d. The animals received their mother’s milk and a supplementation of hay and concentrate from 30 d to slaughter. The increase to 60 d of slaughter age resulted in higher proportion of lauric acid (C12:0; P<0.05), pentadecanoic acid (C15:0; P<0.01) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA; P<0.05), and lower proportion of stearic acid (C18:0; P<0.05) and linoleic acid (C20:3 n-6; P<0.05). Using a none-point hedonic scale, consumer test showed that meat from lambs slaughtered at 60 d received a higher hedonic scores (P < 0.01) as well as higher scores for tenderness (P < 0.05), flavour (P < 0.05), and juiciness (P < 0.001) than meat from lambs slaughtered at 45 d. These findings might be useful to characterise lamb meat of local origin in relation to its nutritional traits and market perspectives connected to consumer acceptability