Comparison of the meat quality and fatty acid composition of traditional fat-tailed (Chall) and tailed (Zel) Iranian sheep breeds.

The aim of this study was to compare the meat quality of a traditional fat-tailed breed, Chall, to a tailed Iranian sheep breed, Zel. Lambs were grazed on pasture until weaning, and then were finished until slaughter at 10-12 months. Meat quality traits were measured on the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle. Zel lambs accumulated more intramuscular fat (IMF) (p<0.01) and had lower shear force and drip loss than Chall lambs (p<0.05). The meat color of Zel lambs was higher for both a* (p<0.001) and b* (p<0.01) compared to Chall lambs. Meat from Zel lambs was more tender (p<0.01) and more juicy (p<0.05) than Chall lambs. The PUFA:SFA fatty acid ratio (P:S) was higher (p<0.05) and the n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio was lower in Chall compared to Zel lambs (p<0.05). Overall, these results show that the eating quality of Zel lambs was better, but that this was at the cost of less favorable fatty acid profiles and poorer meat color.