Production system and slaughter age effects on intramuscular fatty acids from young Tudanca bulls

Thirty-three young bulls from Tudanca local breed were used to investigate the effect of two production systems (semi-extensive vs. intensive) and two slaughter ages (12 vs. 14 months) on meat fatty acid (FA) composition. Longissimus thoracis from semi-extensive animals had a lower percentage of intramuscular fat (p ≤ 0.001), saturated FAs (p ≤ 0.05), trans-18:1 (p ≤ 0.001), n-6/n-3 ratio (p ≤ 0.001) and a higher percentage of branched chain FAs (p ≤ 0.001), polyunsaturated FAs (p ≤ 0.001) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) (p ≤ 0.001). Few differences were observed in FA composition between slaughter ages. Hence, meat from semi-extensive animals slaughtered at 12 or 14 months displayed a healthier FA profile from a consumerʹs point of view.