Ram lamb meat study inconclusive

01-04-2009 | Not Specified

Massey University researchers can't say either way if there's a problem with ram lamb meat quality.

In a new report written for Meat & Wool New Zealand, Professor Roger Purchas and lecturer Nicola Schreurs called for more research on the issue.

The scientists reviewed some scientific studies including six from NZ, and found little consensus on the nature of any differences.

"This is probably because the differences are generally small or non-existent."

This research contradicts Silver Fern Farms' (SFF) position on ram meat quality, and communications manager Brent Melville says the new Meat & Wool report hasn't changed its stance.

SFF told suppliers in late August it would not accept ram lambs for its Backbone programme from March 31 this year, but would not discount them by paying only the mutton schedule as it had announced earlier.

SFF's chief executive Keith Cooper last year said it was not a tenderness issue, but a problem of smell and taste. In recent supplier newsletters he says it is important they consistently deliver a high quality food item if they are to grow the market.

"Our own research, backed by controlled consumer research by AgResearch and others has confirmed a statistical difference in tenderness and taste between products from entire ram lambs and other lambs."

Meanwhile AFFCO is about to send a letter to its clients on the issue and preferred not to comment.

The Massey scientists said there was evidence from the United States that heavy ram lambs at the upper end of the lamb age range will produce meat which may have a more intensive flavour. But no such evidence was found for NZ lambs.

"The more intense flavour that has sometimes been reported for meat from older and heavier lambs may mean that it could be successfully marketed as a different product by targeting consumers who prefer a "full-flavoured" lamb product," they said.

When compared to meat from ewe lambs, ram lamb meat is likely to contain less fat and more collagen, and is slightly more likely to have an elevated ultimate pH, all of which may influence quality.

Several but not all of the studies reported that meat from ram lambs is likely to be less tender than that from ewe lambs, they said.

Although there is no good evidence to show clear differences between ram, wether and ewe lambs, the research raised many questions, they said.

They want to know if New Zealanders can tell the difference in meat quality between ram and ewe lambs when the lambs are grown to carcaseweights of more than 40kg and finished on pasture or concentrate.

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