Czech J. Food Sci., 2009, 27(10):S267-S270 | DOI: 10.17221/949-CJFS

Comparison of the Sensory Characteristics of Suckling Lamb Meat: Organic vs Conventional Production

I. Revilla^1*, M. A. Lurueña-Martínez¹, M. A. Blanco-Lopez¹, A. M. Vivar-Quintana¹, C. Palacios², P. Severiano-Pérez³

¹ Área de Tecnología de Alimentos, Universidad de Salamanca, E.P.S. de Zamora, 49022 Zamora, Spain

² Area de Producción Animal, Universidad de Salamanca, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Ambientales, 37007 Salamanca, Spain

³ Facultad de Química, Departamento de Alimentos y Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D. F.04510, México, *E-mail: irevilla@usal.es

40 L. dorsi muscles from the left half carcass of suckling lambs raised under both organic and conventional systems were evaluated by a sixteen-member trained panel, following QDA methodology. After developing a common vocabulary for the evaluation of characteristics, 30 meat descriptors in raw and grilled meat were selected. Additionally, overall appreciation was evaluated by 140 consumers in a home-use test. The results obtained show that the appearance of the organic meat was more fibrous, darker, and with a lower aroma intensity than the conventional counterpart, but with no differences in homogeneity or juiciness. In grilled meat, the organic samples had less subcutaneous fat, less fatness, a less fibrous texture and less aroma intensity, but also less juiciness. Regarding overall appreciation, the consumers gave higher scores to the organically produced samples.

Keywords: QDA analysis; suckling lamb; organic production; consumer preferences

Published: June 30, 2009  Show citation