Qualidade da carne de tambaqui abatido com diferentes classes de pesos

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the meat quality of tambaqui slaughtered at different weights. Twenty-four animals were slaughtered at body weights ranging from 1.0 to 3.5 kg. The slaughter weight did not affect meat pH (6.42), luminosity (L*), red color intensity (a*) or yellow color intensity (b*) (means of 62.0, 2.86 and 15.57, respectively), nor the sensory attributes appearance (7.41), flavor (7.25), texture (7.40), and overall acceptance (7.24). Weight loss by dripping and defrosting and the water holding capacity of tambaqui meat were affected (P<0.01) by slaughter weight.  Although a slaughter weight of tambaqui between 1.0 and 1.5 kg was associated with further water loss, the other meat quality traits were not compromised.