| dc.description.abstract | Consumer demands are forcing all segments of the meat industry to decrease fat and increase leanness in products. "The National Survey of Lamb Carcass Cutability Traits" (Tatum et al., 1989) reported that a large proportion of lamb carcasses were excessively fat. In that survey, the average fat thickness at the 12th/13th rib was 7.4 mm, and over 39% of the sample were USDA yield grade 4 and 5. This survey illustrated that the U.S. lamb industry has been moving backwards, as the average fat thickness for lamb was 4.8 mm in 1969 (Southam and Field, 1969). Individuals interviewed across industry segments cited overfinished lambs as the major marketing/merchandising problem (Williams, 1991). The second most important problem in marketing lamb was seen as high retail prices. These high prices are attributed to the relatively small serving sizes. To improve consumer acceptance of lamb products, the lamb industry must take action to produce a leaner product.
Recently, a genetic mutation that causes extreme muscling in sheep has been identified (Cockett et al., 1993). Market lambs that display this extreme muscle hypertrophy phenotype, referred to as Callipyge, are very lean and muscular in appearance. While this phenotype seems desirable to the producer, there remain questions about the use of these extremely muscular animals in the meat industry. With the possible benefits from the inclusion of this phenotype into the commercial lamb population from a producer standpoint, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of extreme muscle hypertrophy on animal growth, carcass composition, and meat palatability characteristics. | en |
