Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
(N/A)
FAYETTEVILLE,AR 72703
Performing Department
Animal Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Goat meat is a staple protein source in diets of a large segment of the world population, and demand for goat meat has increased substantially in the U.S. over the past few decades due to increases ethnic diversity and consumer preferences for more "natural," locally-grown foods. Carcasses of goat slaughtered in the U.S. are typically light-weight, with very little external fat, and meat from these goats is relatively tough when compared to beef, pork, and lamb. Moreover, because there is no large goat slaughterers in the U.S., most of the goats are harvested at very small to small-scale abattoirs where application of electrical stimulation is not feasible. So, the proposed research is designed to discover the factors that may affect cooked goat meat tenderness, and test a number of methods to improve goat meat tenderness that have been shown to improve the palatability of beef, pork, and lamb. More importantly, the proposed treatments must be both cost effecitive and easily applied at these very small to small-size abattoirs.
Animal Health Component
70%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
70%
Developmental
20%
Goals / Objectives
To characterize the factors that may influence the tenderness of meat from goats, and test the application of prerigor methods to improve goat meat tenderness that can be easily applied in very small to small abattoirs.
Project Methods
For the most part, instrumental fresh goat meat color (L*, a*, b*, and reflectance spectrum from 400 to 700 nm) will be measured with a Hunter MiniScan XE. My laboratory currently has seven cookery methods dedicated to my research efforts; however, the proposed research will primarily employe one or two methods, and all goat meat will be cooked in accordance to AMSA (2015) guidelines (Research Guidelines for Cookery, Sensory Evaluation, and Instrumental Tenderness Measurements of Meat). For more specific description of experimental design, treatment(s) application, and procedures/protocols, please refer to each described experiment in the attached proposal. Please note: I provide the title of the AMSA (2015) guidelines, however, I do not include any sensory evaluations in my proposal. My proposal outlines only cooking meat according to these guidelines and conducting "instrumental tenderness" (Warner-Bratzler shear force; WBSF) analysis according to these guidelines. I am not proposing doing human sensory evaluations (which are also covered by these guidelines). In summary, I do not see the need for IRB approval (WBSF is exempt from our IRB standards at the U of A).