**Goat's Meat**

**Chapter 12**

**Provisional chapter**

**Carcass and Meat Quality in Goat**

Ana Guerrero, María del Mar Campo, José Luis Olleta

**Carcass and Meat Quality in Goat**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.72095

Goat is a worldwide spread species with different specialities and aptitudes, among the meat production. Its consumption varies widely depending on the region of the world considered. However, a common factor is the presence of few studies in comparison with ovine, especially those that characterize the quality of its products (related to carcass and meat). Generation, availability, and diffusion of characteristics of the species and its production, generated from scientific studies, could help breeders and society on their education and raising global awareness of its importance, conservation, and productive possibilities. Goat has its own specific characteristics related to quality with a presumed good acceptability of its products by consumers. On the current chapter, the effects of the main factors that modify carcass and meat quality in goat are compiled. Both, intrinsic factors (breed or breed type, age, weight at slaughter or gender) and some extrinsic fac-

tors (as production system, type of suckling, and aging) are discussed.

**Keywords:** acceptability, instrumental analyses, kid, proximate composition, sensory

Goat is the most widespread livestock species, as [1] reported and listed. There is an important visible genetic variation on goat species, with approximately 570 different breeds, with their own morphological characteristics, productive performances, and adaptation to specific climate and environment. Breeds are classified in 5 specialities: meat, milk, prolificacy, fiber (pashmina—cashmere and mohair), and skin. Currently, there are more than 1 billion heads around the world [2], with 57.4% of the census located in Asia, 37.0% in Africa, and 3.5% in America, representing Europe 1.6% and Oceania 0.4%. Over the last 50 years, as [3] compiled, goat population has multiplied by 2.4 times while other livestock species have maintained it or reduced. Nevertheless, goats in most countries are kept in small herds, not always very

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Ana Guerrero, María del Mar Campo, José Luis Olleta and Carlos Sañudo

and Carlos Sañudo

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72095

**Chapter 12**

**Provisional chapter**
