Improvement of Meat Quality Evaluation by Ultrasound in Carpatina Goat Breed

Abstract

This paper proposes a non-invasive method for goat carcass estimation, efficient and easy to use, without sacrificing and able to keep the animals for reproduction: ultrasound method. In the present study, the following parameters were measured by ultrasound method: fat layer, muscle depth, eye muscle area, eye muscle perimeter in Longissimus Dorsi, between two measurements point (12th rib and between 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebra). Young goats (33.65kg, BW), 9 months of age, and adult female goats (35.99 kg BW), were used. In young goat, fat layer (1.86, 1.94 mm), muscle depth (18.97, 17.34 mm), eye muscle area (8.18, 8.25 cm2) and eye muscle perimeter (123.93, 125.06 mm) was similar with those founded in other goat breeds. High correlations were found between body weight and ultrasound parameters for muscle depth (0.81, 0.61) and eye muscle area (0.74, 0.67) in young goats. In adults, the ultrasound measurements showed 1.99, 2.04 mm for fat, 19.96, 19.26 mm for muscle depth and 9.02 and 9.17 cm2 for muscle eye area. High correlations were found also for adult for the same parameters, body weight and ultrasound for muscle depth (0.61, 0.63) and eye muscle area (0.45, 0.41). In the second phase of this study correlations with carcass derived from slaughtered animals will be carried out.

Keywords

• quality meat
• ultrasound
• non - invasive method