Influence of sex and slaughter weight on carcass and meat quality in light and medium weight lambs produced in intensive systems.

Effects of slaughter weight and sex on carcass characteristics and lamb meat quality of Manchega Spanish breed were analysed. Forty-five lambs were divided into two slaughter weight groups: light (LW=21.7±0.16 kg; n=24) and medium (MW=27.8±0.16 kg; n=21). Dressing proportion and conformation were significantly different between groups and sex. There were also differences between light and medium group in fatness but not between males and females. Water holding capacity decreased with increasing slaughter weight (p<0.05) and was lower in females than in males (p<0.001). The increase in weight was associated with a decrease in L* (p<0.01), while a* showed an increase which failed to reach statistical significance. Slaughter weight and sex affected neither pH and its decrease post-slaughter nor meat toughness. ©