Influence of different production strategies on the stability of color, oxygen consumption and metmyoglobin reducing activity of meat from Ningxia Tan sheep

•Effects of several feeding strategies on color in meat from Tan sheep were studied.•Pasture-fed facilitated color stability, but hindered the weight gain of the sheep.•Feedlot-fed did not generate ideal weight gain and color stability.•Mixed feeding could be used as a relatively superior feeding strategy in production.

Fifty male Ningxia Tan sheep were randomly divided into five groups (10 per group). Different feeding strategies were applied to each group for 120 days prior to slaughter. The sheep belong to five groups were pastured for 0 h (feedlot-fed), 2 h, 4 h, 8 h, 12 h per day on a natural grazing ground, respectively. M. semitendinosus muscle from Tan sheep was obtained after slaughter. Instrumental color, pH values, oxygen consumption rate, metmyoglobin reducing activity and relative metmyoglobin percentages were analyzed after 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 days of refrigerated storage. Long-term daily grazing and herbage-based diet were conducive to maintain a lower oxygen consumption rate, higher metmyoglobin reducing activity and lower metmyoglobin accumulation. The combination of pasture-fed and feedlot-fed was conducive to weight gain, and at the same time, increased the color stability of the meat from Ningxia Tan sheep.