Chemical characterization (proximate composition, fatty acids content and volatile profile) of the alpine Ciuta sheep breed

Description

This dataset originates from a study aiming to valorise Ciuta sheep, a local breed native from the Italian Central Alps, through the characterization of nutritional quality and chemical composition of fresh meat (loins) and one traditional dry-cured product (bresaola). Specifically, the research focused on determining the chemical composition of Ciuta sheep meat and on identifying key changes in its chemical profile during processing into bresaola, hypothesizing that such chemical fingerprint may suggest some markers linked to the production system, geographical origin, and traditional processing techniques. For this reason, for bresaola, both an aliquot of fresh meat before and after transformation and dry-curing was sampled and analysed. Regarding loins, three commercial categories (lambs, hoggets and mutton) were considered, in order to define any possible difference induced by age of the sheep (and physiological factors, such as rumen development). The dataset includes chemical data regarding the proximate composition (moisture, protein, fat, ash, salt content for the dry-cured product) and energy content of fresh and dry-cured meat; the fatty acids content of fresh and dry-cured meat product; the volatile profile of fresh and dry-cured meat product. Results from analysis performed in our study suggested that the development of high-quality dry-cured products could provide a strategy to valorise Ciuta sheep meat, especially from adult animals (culled ewes and rams), while fresh meat production could focus on lambs. The complex volatile profile detected was influenced by both the farming system and traditional processing methods.

Institutions

• University of Milan

  Lombardy, Milan

Categories

Funders

• Regione Lombardia

  Milan

  Grant ID: PSR 2014-2020 (FEASR): Misura 16, Operazione 16.2.01. Project “Val3Ciuta – Valorizzazione della triplice attitudine della Pecora Ciuta attraverso la caratterizzazione delle sue produzioni.” 

Licence