Meat quality of Criollo Cordobes goat kids produced under extensive feeding conditions. Effects of sex and age/weight at slaughter

The aim of this work was to study meat quality and fatty acid profiles in the longissimus muscle from Criollo Cordobes (CC) suckling kids, and to determine the effect of sex and age/weight at slaughter on these characteristics. Forty suckling kids, 20 intact males and 20 females, were randomly assigned to two groups: I (60 ± 2 days old and live weight < 11 kg) and II (90 ± 3 days old and live weight >11 kg). Sex had a significant influence on meat colour, Warner- Bratzler shear force, cooking losses, water holding capacity and intramuscular fat content, while the age/weight had a significant influence on cholesterol and tenderness. The main fatty acids identified from the intramuscular fat were oleic (30.1-32.6%), palmitic (19.6-21.0%) and stearic (13.5-16.3%). Levels of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid ranged from 40.1% to 41.9% and from 57.6% to 59.1%, respectively. Meat from CC kids is pale red, tender, juicy and the intensity of flavour and aroma were medium-high.