Asian Food Science Journal

Mutton is expensive, especially during Muslim festivals. There is a need to increase the value of mutton into value-added products. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of different types of muscles on the physical, chemical, sensory and microbiological properties of suya.

Three different types of muscles (Semitendonisus (ST), Deltodius (DT) and Adductor (ADD)) were harvested from the carcasses of fattened Balami rams. The muscles were grouped into three treatments (ST, DT and ADD) to evaluate for physical properties of mutton and studying the changes in the chemical compositions of suya. The microbiological and sensory attributes of the mutton were measured.

The Water Holding Capacity was highest (P<0.05) in DT (78.17±9.83%) followed by ADD (77.21±9.63%) and least in ST (68.10%). The PY was highest in the DT with a value of 73.83±3.65%, and the lowest was 69.81±2.64% for ST. There were significant differences (P≤ 0.05) among the treatments  in chemical analyses; indicated that suya samples from ST muscle had the highest percentage of moisture (23.01±0.51%) compared to the lowest percentages of DT (22.46±0.42%) and ADD treatments (22.43±0.37%) and high protein contents were in ADD (50.14±0.47%) treatment, while lowest contents were in DT (49.44±1.06%) treatments. Suya samples from ST treatments contained the lowest content of cholesterol (48.67±5.40 mg/100 g), while DT treatments contained the highest content of cholesterol (53.08±3.96 mg/100 g). However, there were significant differences when compared with suya samples from the DT muscles. This study revealed significant effects of muscles on physical, chemical indices and organoleptic properties of suya due to variation in the muscle fibre.