Carcass traits and meat quality of Texel lambs raised in Brachiaria pasture and feedlot systems.

Our hypothesis suggests an improvement in carcass and meat quality of pasture-finished animals by introducing concentrate feed into diets. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different levels of protein-energy supplementation on carcass and meat characteristics of Texel lambs raised on Brachiaria pastures, and compare the results with those obtained from confined animals. Thirty 2-month-old intact lambs were divided into five treatments: pasture with mineral supplementation, pasture containing daily supplies of 0.8, 1.6, and 2.4% BW protein-energy supplementation, and confinement (reference treatment). All animals were slaughtered 104 days after the beginning of the experiment. Lambs submitted to 1.6% and 2.4% BW supplementation presented similar characteristics to animals kept in confinement and were superior to animals treated with 0 or 0.8% of BW supplementation levels (p < .05). Increases of subcutaneous fat thickness were verified for 0.0, 0.8, 1.6, 2.4% BW, and confinement treatments, being respectively of 0.25, 0.74, 1.61, 1.69, and 1.98. Conversely, treatments had no influence on meat physical-chemical characteristics, being all considered moderately soft, juicy (tender), and with mild tastes and odors. Lambs raised on Brachiaria pastures have high-quality meat, but more protein-energy supplementation is needed to be an alternative for the feedlots for young animals.

Predicting the shear value and intramuscular fat in meat from Nellore cattle using Vis-NIR spectroscopy.

Visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (Vis-NIRS) was tested for its effectiveness in predicting intramuscular fat (IMF) and WBSF in Nellore steers. Beef samples from longissimus thoracis, aged for either 2 or 7 days, had their spectra collected for wavelengths ranging from 400 to 1395 nm. Partial least squares regression models were developed for each trait. Determination coefficients of calibration models for WBSF ranged from 0.17 to 0.53. Considering WBSF in samples aged for 2 days, Vis-NIR correctly classified 100% of tough samples (>45 N), but wrongly classified all tender samples (≤45 N) as tough. Determination coefficients of calibration models for IMF ranged from 0.12 to 0.14. Vis-NIRS is a useful tool for identifying tough beef, but it is less effective in predicting tender samples and IMF. Additional studies are necessary to generate more robust models for the prediction of intramuscular fat in intact meat samples of Nellore cattle.