New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts

---

Does high voltage electrical stimulation of sheep affect rate of tenderisation?

CARRICK E. DEVINE
ROBYN WELLS
CHRISTIAN J. COOK
STEVEN R. PAYNE

Technology Development Group
HortResearch
Private Bag 3123
Hamilton, New Zealand
Email: cdevine@hortresearch.co.nz

Abstract  Romney-cross sheep (n = 24) were shot with a captive bolt, slaughtered, and dressed and suspended by the Achilles tendons. Half of each group of carcasses did not have any electrical input. The remaining carcasses were electrically stimulated at 30 min post mortem for 90 s using 1130 V peak (current 2 A) pulses (half sine wave, 10 ms duration) at an alternating pulse frequency of 14.28 pulses s^-1. All carcasses were placed into a room at 10deg.C with an air velocity of 1-1.5 m s^-1. At rigor mortis (ultimate pH) the m. longissimus thoracis et lumborum was removed and cut into four portions to age for 0, 9, 30, and 57 hours at 10deg.C then frozen at -20deg.C, cooked from the frozen state, and 1 cm x 1 cm samples sheared using a MIRINZ tenderometer. The sarcomere length of small fibre bundles was measured by laser diffraction and showed no difference between the treatment groups but became longer from rump to head. By chilling and ensuring both electrically stimulated and non-stimulated muscle enters rigor mortis at temperatures from 10 to 17deg.C, and indexing the start of ageing to rigor mortis, the rate of tenderisation was the same. Stimulation therefore exerts its main effects through early rigor mortis and ageing at higher temperatures.

Keywords  electrical stimulation; rigor mortis; ageing rate; tenderness

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 2001, Vol. 44: 53-58

0028-8233/01/4401-0053 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 2001

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (469K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

---

This year's abstracts | Journal home page | All abstracts | Publishing home page