Quality of meat from Santa Ines sheep with different biotypes and slaughtering weights

ABSTRACT The Santa Inês breed is of great importance for the lamb production chain in Brazil. The adaptive and reproductive characteristics of this breed favor its use in future breeding programs for the production of sheep for slaughter in northeastern Brazil. This study evaluated the carcass characteristics, physical parameters, chemical composition and determination of the fatty acid profile of the lambs of the traditional and modern biotypes, slaughtered at 32 kg and 34 kg. Thirty-six Santa Inês lambs were used, with an average age of 180 days and initial weight of 16 kg in a completely randomized design, with a faecal spruce 2x2 (two biotypes and two slaughtering weights). The data were submitted to analysis of variance and averages were compared by the test F α = 0.05 using SAS GLM, (2011) - Statistical Analysis System, version 9.3.Biotypes and slaughter weight did not influence the physical parameters and the fatty acid profile of the meat. Centesimal composition of meat was influenced by treatments, with the larger contents of meat moisture for the traditional biotype slaughtered at 32 kg, and higher content of ash, protein and fat present in the meat for the modern biotype slaughtered at 34 kg. Santa Inês animals that if frame Modern biotype presents potential for meat production with high nutritional value, due to higher protein content, low fat content and satisfactory amount of oleic, palmitic, stearic, linoleic fatty acids, as well as a great relationship between polyunsaturated acids and saturated.