Effect of finishing time with vitamin E supplementation and alfalfa grazing on the carcass colour and evolution of meat colour and lipid oxidation of light lambs

G. Ripoll, L. González-Calvo, F. Molino, J.H. Calvo, M. Joy. Effect of finishing time with vitamin E supplementation and alfalfa grazing on the carcass colour and evolution of meat colour and lipid oxidation of light lambs. Meat Science 93 (4): 906 -913

Indoor-kept concentrate-fed light lambs (n=54) were supplemented with 500 mg of dl-α-tocopheryl acetate/kg concentrate for 0, 10, 20 and 30 d before slaughtering at 22–24 kg BW. Simultaneously, 8 lambs with their dams were alfalfa-grazed and the lambs were slaughtered at the same weight. The age at slaughter and carcass characteristics were more affected by grazing than by supplementation with α-tocopherol. The grazing lambs had similar α-tocopherol levels to the lambs fed concentrate with dl-α-tocopheryl acetate for 10 days before slaughter. The length of the feeding period affected the evolution of the color, delaying the blooming and discoloration of the meat. Feeding lambs α-tocopherol enriched concentrate during the last 10 days of life or grazing them on alfalfa drastically diminished the lipid oxidation of the meat. Alfalfa grazing is a feasible alternative to increase light lamb meat shelf life without using additives