Effect of different ageing temperatures prior to freezing on meat quality attributes of frozen/thawed lamb loins

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different ageing temperatures prior to freezing on quality attributes of lamb loins. The loins (M. longissimus; n = 16) were randomly allocated to one of the four different ageing/freezing conditions: aged only loins ( 1.5°C for 14 days) and aged ( 1.5°C for 14 days, 3°C for 8 days, or 7°C for 8 days) then frozen/thawed loins. The loins aged at elevated temperatures for 8 days had equivalent shear force, protein degradation and purge loss values compared to the loins aged at -1.5°C for 14 days (P > 0.05). However, significantly higher drip loss and less color stability were observed in the loins with increasing ageing temperatures compared to the loins aged at -1.5°C. These results suggest that application of elevated ageing temperatures (particularly at 3°C) could shorten required ageing periods prior to freezing without resulting in substantial adverse impacts on meat quality attributes of frozen/thawed meat.