| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2449570 | Meat Science | 2016 | 9 Pages |
•Electrical stimulation should be used to minimise cold shortening occurring in alpaca carcasses.•Electrical stimulation and ageing alpaca meat improve shear force values.•Electrically stimulated product was rated higher on all levels of consumer sensory evaluation.•Alpaca meat has its own unique colour characteristics and meat quality parameters.
This study investigated the effects of using medium voltage (~ 300 V) electrical stimulation (ES) and ageing on alpaca meat. A total of 50 huacaya alpacas were distributed across three age groups (18, 24 and 36 months) and two genders (females and castrated males). At 24 h post mortem the m. longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LL) and m. semimembranosus (SM) muscles were removed and aged for either 5 or 10 days. In comparison to non-ES samples, ES significantly reduced: LL purge values by 3.0% and LL shear force (SF) at 5 and 10 days (by 21.6 N and ageing further reduced tenderness by 6.6 N), and SM SF by 5.8 N with significant age effects observed in both ES and non-ES SM samples, such that SF increased by 0.53 N with each month increase in animal age. Consumers rated ES samples higher on tenderness, juiciness, flavour and overall rating. ES and ageing of alpaca carcasses are recommended.
