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Effect of Temperature and Air Speed on the Rapid Chilling of Lamb

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  Paper number  026192,  2002 ASAE Annual Meeting . (doi: 10.13031/2013.9797) @2002
Authors:   Dr. Francis Butler, Dr. Brian McGeehin, Mr. Eoghan O’Neill, Dr. Grainne Redmond, Dr. J. J. Sheridan, Mr. Declan Troy
Keywords:   Lamb, rapid chilling, weight loss, shear force

Rapid chilling of lamb has major economic advantages for the meat industry. Rapid chilling can reduce weight loss from approximately 2% in normally chilled lamb to approximately 1.2%. These weight loss reductions are a major financial incentive for rapid chilling. With rapid chilling, the requirement for overnight chilling can be eliminated and carcasses can be dispatched to commercial markets on the day of slaughter. When properly carried out, rapid chilling results in lamb carcasses that are not tougher than normally chilled lamb. During the work, considerable variation in shear force values for individual lamb carcasses was encountered irrespective of the chilling treatment. This variation in tenderness appears to be due mainly to animal variation rather than external environmental factors. Continuous monitoring of carcass weight during chilling and subsequent storage indicated that rapidly chilled carcasses gained weight appreciably when moved at the end of the rapid chilling period to the storage chill (4 C). This increase in weight was the main cause of decreased weight loss associated with rapid chilling. The differences found in weight loss between rapidly chilled carcasses and normally chilled carcasses can be maintained over 5 days of chilled storage when the carcasses are stored at 4 C and > 90% relative humidity.

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