1.
-GROWTH,
FATTENING ANDOUALITY
OF LAMB AND KID CARCASSESOverall growth of the lamb: its characteristics and rules
M. PRUD’HON
Station de
Plcysiologie animale, 7.A!.7!.!.,
E.N.S.A.place Viala, 3 ¢ 0 6o Montpelliev
CedexA
descriptive study
of theprenatal
andpost-natal growth
of the lamb and the methods used to determine its characteristics was made.Unpublished
data on the dissection of 80 lambsbelonging to different genotypes (Romanov, Merino,
Romanov XMerino, Berrichon,
Bcrrichon XMerino) slaughtered
at 25, 50, 100 andi jo
days
of age were used.Breed
comparisons
were done at similardegrees
ofmaturity (slaughter weight /adult weight)
The results show
large
breed differences in thegrowth
of various organs and fatdeposits
butnot in the
proportions
of muscles and bones. These differences decreased whendegree
of matu-rity
reached 0.25 to 0.60.The allometric coefficient of
empty liveweight
or total mass of similar tissue was also used to characterize thegrowth
of different organs and tissues. The usual rules for differentialgrowth
were verified for each
genotype studied; however,
there are some differences in themagnitude
of the allometric coefficient in these 5
genotypes. Roughly,
thismagnitude
varied less in the muscle tissue from onegenotype
to another.However,
there are differences in muscle massdistribution,
i.e. at the samedegree
ofmaturity,
the Romanov and the Merino had more shoulder muscle and lessleg
muscle than the Berrichon.The
prerequisites
for aninventory
ofgrowth
characteristics and anatomicalcomposition
of the main French
sheep
breeds arc outlined. The utilisation ofsimple
estimators forpredict- ing growth
issuggested.
General aspects of the development and growth
of muscle and adipose tissues : characteristics in sheep
A. VEZINHET
J.
NOUGUES P. VIGNERONStation de
Physiologie anima.le, 7.!V./t’.!.,
E.N.S.A.,placc l,’iala, 34 o6o -Ilontpellier
CedcxThe aim in meat
production
is to increase the muscle mass(which
is theprotein fraction)
in the carcass and obtain an
optimal
amount offatty
tissue. Tosatisfy
theseobjectives,
it isnecessary to have a better
knowledge
of the xnechanismsgoverning
muscle andadipose develop-
ment. To do
this,
we muststudy
distribution of theadipose
tissue in the whole animal and the cellularaspects
of thatdevelopment, adipocyte ability
tosynthesize fatty
acids or to assimilate nutritionallipids
andadipocyte faculty
ofreleasing fatty
reserve-,. Instudying
muscle tissne.its structural
development, composition
andhistological pattern
must be taken into consideration.All these
aspects
areinvestigated
in thisstudy.
Theadipose
tissue inlamb,
located in diffe- rentregions,
showsgreat diversity
ingrowth
rate. At the cellular level, thedevelopmental pattern
ofadipocyte
number and size variesconsiderably.
The metabolicactivity
of the diffe- rentdeposits
studied is found todepend
on their anatomical location and the age of the animal.Analysis
shows agreat diversity
in theprotein components
of muscle tissue. The structural and biochemical characteristics of musclechange considerably during development, particularly
at the
early stages.
Metabolic differentiation, however, continues until the muscle is mature.Muscles are made up of different
types
of fibres, and theproportion
of thesetypes
differs in different mature muscles. This work demonstrates that there isgreat diversity
in thegrowth patterns
of bothadipose
and muscle tissue. It is felt that a betterunderstanding
of thedevelop-
ment and
diversity
of these tissues is necessary before thequality
andquantity
of meat in thecarcass can be
greatly improved.
The quality of sheep carcasses
R. BOCCARD B. L. DUMONT
(
*
)
Station de Recherches sur la viande. Centre de Recherches deClermont-Ferrand, ] .N.R.A.,
Theix6 ]IIO
Bea2evnont(
**
)
Laboratoire de Recherches sur la Viande, C.N.R.Z.I.N.R.A., 7 8 350 Ioity-en-josas
Consumers, housewives and retailers have their own definitions of
quality
based on differentsingle
or combined factors.i. The
technological
value of the carcass cannot be determinedby comparing
the propor- tion of the different cuts(even though they
have been obtainedby
a constant method ofcutting)
because of the anatomical
harmony
in the carcass. Tissue distribution is a more reliable measure,but demands dissection of the whole carcass or
part
ofit,
such as the shoulder.Fatness, the most variable tissue characteristic, can be estimated
by
thickness of subcuta-neous fat or even
by kidney
fat. The tissuecomposition
of the carcass, andespecially
fat, islargely
influencedby
sex, age,weight
and rate ofgrowth.
The
general shape
of the carcass, orpart
ofit, generally
called conformation, can be describ- edby
external measurements afterthey
have been corrected for the effect ofweight.
Meat flavour and colour are
quality parameters important
to consider. Agood appraisal
of the colour can be obtained
chemically
orphysically;
the mostimportant
characteristic inevaluating
fat isconsistency.
Even
though
the main characteristics of carcass and meatquality
arcmeasurable,
their combination remains uncertain and needs more clarification.2
. The commercial value of a carcass is determined
by
various factors such asweight,
sex, conformation and
fatness,
as well as colour and otheraspects
of meat andfat;
these are all characteristics which can be coded. Thepresent emphasis
on certain carcass and meatcharacteristics in the market is sure to