Avaliação de características da carcaça e da qualidade da carne de queixada (Tayassu pecari [Link, 1795])

Abstract

This work was carried out to evaluate carcass and meat quality attributes of adult white-lipped peccaries. A total of four white-lipped peccaries (three males and one female), with average of live weights (LW) of 29.47 ± 3.45 kg, were slaughtered and evaluated for hot carcass dressing (HCD), ribeye area (REA), rib fat thickness (RFT), intramuscular fat (marbling), pH, cook loss (CL), total haem pigments (THP) and proximate composition of Longissimus dorsi (LD). The HCD in relation to LW was of 53.80% and a shrink loss of 3.22% after 24 hours of refrigeration was found. The final pH (5.54) observed was considered normal for pork carcass. The REA (14.44 cm2) and RFT (3,75 mm) values indicate a good muscular development and a low proportion of fat in the carcass, also evidenced for marbling traces and low content of lipids observed in the LD. The loin proximate composition was: 74.59% of moisture; 20.25% of protein; 1.08% of ethereal extract; and 1.17% of ash. The THP (69.49 ppm) and CL (13.68%) values show the meat quality of the peccaries, since the THP are related to the red color of the meat and CL indicates a low loss of weight during cooking.