Changes in meat quality of musculus longissimus thoracis et lumborum after 1 and 4 months of frozen storage at -18 °c, obtained from lambs

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of freezing and frozen storage duration (1 and 4 months) on the chemical composition and technological properties of lamb meat. Meat samples from Musculus Longissimus thoracis et lumborum were collected from Bulgarian Dairy Synthetic Population and their crosses with Ile-de-France and Mouton Charollais breed, with a slaughtering weight of 22-23 kg. Samples were frozen in a freezer at 18 °S. Frozen meat samples were thawed in a refrigerator at 4 °S 1 month and 4 months after freezing and analysed for determination of chemical composition and technological properties. It was established that lamb meat from the control group kept frozen for 1 month had statistically significantly higher water content compared to crosses of Bulgarian Dairy Synthetic Population with the Ile-deFrance breed. Furthermore, dairy lambs were outlined with substantially higher meat fat content compared to crosses of Bulgarian Dairy Synthetic Population with the with Mouton Charollais. The chemical analysis of meat kept frozen for 4 months demonstrated significantly lower water content and higher dry matter and protein content in Ile-de-France crosses with Bulgarian Dairy Synthetic Population than in the control group. The meat protein percentage was higher while fat content - was lower in crossed Bulgarian Dairy Synthetic Population with Mouton Charollais compared to respective values in controls. Meat pH values of Mouton Charollais crosses differed significantly between the 1st and 4th month of frozen storage (R≤0.01). It was found out that the tenderness of meat frozen for 1 and 4 months was statistically significantly elevated in crosses of Bulgarian Dairy Synthetic Population with Ile-de-France and Mouton Charollais breeds compared to meat from control lambs.