Grazing on mountain pastures -: does it affect meat quality in lambs?

Meat from lambs raised on mountain pastures without any supplementary feeding or treatment is often considered to be of superior quality. Hence, the objective of this study was to compare the quality of meat from lambs grazing on unimproved mountain range (1000 m above sea level) with meat from lambs grazing on cultivated lowland pastures. The experiment was undertaken in Hardanger on the Western Coast of Norway with 150 Norwegian Crossbred Sheep (Norsk Kvitsau) randomly allocated to "Lowland" and "Mountain" groups. Twenty lambs from each group were selected for final evaluation. Slaughtering and grading were performed at a commercial slaughterhouse. Thereafter, loin samples of M longissimus dorsi were analyzed for sensory traits and other meat quality. For further comparisons, loin samples were also taken from lambs slaughtered at two other locations in Norway. Significant differences between the groups were found in grading, fat content and fatty acid composition, meat colour, and meat flavour. Differences in sensory traits were in general small and most likely not noticed by the consumer. Still the results suggest that meat from lambs raised in extensive systems on mountain range has certain qualities that might be used in promotion of local and regional products. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.