A comparison of the quality of the Longissimus lumborum muscle from wild and farm-raised fallow deer (Dama dama L.)

- Meat quality parameters of the wild and farm-raised fallow deer were analyzed.
- Our findings may suggest that meat from wild fallow deer has more desirable properties.
- Further research is needed to validate this hypothesis.

The objective of the present study was to determine the chemical composition as well as the physicochemical and sensory properties of meat (Longissimus lumborum muscle) from wild fallow deer (Dama dama L.) bucks shot during a hunt in forests of north-eastern Poland (n = 11) and farm-raised fallow deer bucks (n = 14) slaughtered on a farm in north-eastern Poland. It was found that the number of samples with pHu higher than 6.0 accounted for 57% of all samples collected in the group of farmed-raised fallow deer. Meat samples with pH > 6.0 were not taken into consideration while evaluating meat quality. Meat from wild fallow deer, compared with farmed animals, was characterized by a higher (P ≤ 0.01) content of fat, a higher (P ≤ 0.01) calorific value, a more desirable fatty acid profile, including higher (P ≤ 0.05) concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids, lower (P ≤ 0.01) average pHu values, lower (P ≤ 0.05) lightness (L*) and higher (P ≤ 0.01) color saturation resulting from a higher contribution of redness (P ≤ 0.01) and yellowness (P > 0.05). Meat from wild fallow deer received also higher scores for aroma desirability (P ≤ 0.01), taste desirability (P ≤ 0.05), juiciness (P ≤ 0.05) and lower (P ≤ 0.01) scores for tenderness.