Quality Determination of Different Wholesale Cuts of Goat Carcass at Different Ages

The experiment was conducted to find out the nutritive value and microbial status of different wholesale cuts of goat carcass. The meat sample (4 cuts from each animal × 3 different age groups × 3 animals in each group = 36 samples) was obtained from 1-, 2-, and 3-year aged goats. The whole sale cuts were shoulder, rack, loin and leg of each goat carcass. To assess the quality of meat sample, the general appearance, color, smell, juiciness, proximate composition, pH, total bacteria, coliform bacteria, and yeast were studied. The mean pH value of different cuts ranges from 5.65-5.69 didn't differ significantly, but due to age differences the pH values (5.59-5.74) differed significantly (p < 0.01). The values of juiciness in different ages ranged from 32.24-42.10% which differed signifi- cantly (p < 0.01). The marbling of the cuts of rack portion was more pronounced than that of other cuts. The ranges of crude protein (CP) content of goat carcass (20.78-27.71%) differed significantly (p < 0.01) and leg portion contained higher CP than other portion. Fat contents of different cuts ranged from 2.66-11.47% differed significantly (P < 0.01). The moisture content of the carcass differed significantly which ranged from 69.20-73.31%. The ash content of the cuts of 1-year aged groups (0.99 ± 0.13%) was higher than that of other age groups and differed significantly (P < 0.01). The calcium (Ca) content did not differ significantly. The phosphorus (P) content was higher in one year old goat (0.15 ± 0.03%) than that of the goats of other ages. The total viable count (TVC) content of microorganisms ranging from 5.05-5.15 log cfu/g at different ages did not differ significantly. The coliform count (CC) of different cuts differed significantly (P < 0.01) which ranged from 2.56-3.05 log cfu/g; it also differed significantly (P < 0.05) in dif- ferent ages (2.79-2.84 log cfu/g) and was higher in 1 year old goat carcass. The yeast count differed significantly in different cuts (P < 0.01) and ages (P < 0.05). From the study it is concluded that the age and different wholesale cuts have direct influence on quality of goat carcass.