Abstract:
Purpose : This study was carried out to investigate the eff ect of delayed chilling regimes on quality
of beef from N’dama cattle due to non-availability or epileptic supply of electricity, as well as non
provision of chilling facilities at the slaughter house at Ayetoro town in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Research Method : Three kilogrames of beef (thigh cut) of freshly slaughtered N’dama bull cattle was
purchased and subdivided into six parts of 500g, each portion represented a chilling regime or treatment
in a randomized experiment as follows: T0 = Immediate (Control), T1 = Chilling after 2hours delay, T2
= chilling after 4hours delay, T3 = chilling after 6hours delay, T4 = chilling after 8hours delay, T5 =
chilling after 10hours delay and were chilled at 40C for 24 hours in a refrigerator and were removed for
physical, chemical, microbiological and sensory quality analysis at p < 0.05.
Findings : The result showed that there were signifi cant diff erences in the physical, chemical,
microbiological as well as sensory characteristics of the meat irrespective of the chilling regime. Meat
colour, water holding capacity, cooking yield, fat, ash, fl avor, tenderness, juiciness, texture and over all
acceptability of the meat decreased (p < 0.05) as the delayed in time increased after 4hours.
Research Limitation : This study was limited to the use of beef from N’dama bull cattle at Ayetoro, the
headquarters of Yewa North Local Government Area in Ogun State, Nigeria. This was due to the fact
that N’dama bull cattle are very common and often slaughter at this point.
Originality/value : It was recommended based on the results from this study that beef from N’dama bull
cattle should be chilled for 4 hours after slaughter otherwise its quality will deplete which might render
the meat to be unacceptable to the consumers.
Keywords: Delayed chilling, beef, N’dama cattle, physicochemical, sensory
