Caracterización comercial y nutricional de la grasa subcutánea de terneros y vacas de desvieje sacrificados en la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco

Abstract

The present work was undertaken to compare the commercial carcass quality and the fatty acid composition of subcutaneous fat from Friesian culled cows of over 30 months of age, and calves of 12 months of age from Pirenaica and Salers breeds slaughtered in a commercial abattoir in the Basque Country. Friesian culled cows provided lighter carcasses (p<0.05), although similar to calves from Pirenaica breed, with lower conformation (p<0.001) and less fat cover (p<0.01) compared to other groups of calves. The subcutaneous fat of culled cows provided higher content of saturated (p<0.001) and branched-chain fatty acids (p<0,05), and lower content of monounsa-turated (p<0.01) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (p<0,001) compared to calves from Pirenaica and Salers breeds. The percentage of trans-monounsaturated fatty acids was significantly higher in the subcutaneous fat of calves from Pirenaica breed (p<0.001), while the 10 t-18:1 content was significantly higher in the fat of calves from Pirenaica breed, intermediate in the fat of calves from Salers breed, and lower in the fat of culled cows (p<0.001). These provided a 10t/11t ratio <1 and a healthier relative trans-18:1 and conjugated linoleic acid isomeric profile in the fat of Friesian culled cows compared to other groups of calves, which may provide culled cow carcasses with a higher added value from the commercialization point of view and of the profitability of cattle farms in the Basque Country.