Articles | Volume 69, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-69-45-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-69-45-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Effect of slaughter age and breed on meat and kaddid quality – a comparative study of Noire de Thibar and Barbarine sheep breeds
National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, Department of Food Technologies (UR17AGR01), University of Carthage, 43 Av. Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, Tunisia
Martino Musati
Department Di3A, University of Catania, via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Guido Mangione
Department Di3A, University of Catania, via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Salvatore Gagliano
Department Di3A, University of Catania, via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Wafa Hajji
National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, Department of Food Technologies (UR17AGR01), University of Carthage, 43 Av. Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, Tunisia
Samir Smeti
Laboratoire des Productions Animales et Fourragères, INRA-Tunisia, University of Carthage, rue Hedi Karray, Ariana 2049, Tunisia
Sihem Bellagha
National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, Department of Food Technologies (UR17AGR01), University of Carthage, 43 Av. Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, Tunisia
Ines Essid
National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, Department of Food Technologies (UR17AGR01), University of Carthage, 43 Av. Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, Tunisia
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Hadhami Hajji, Samir Smeti, Ilyes Mekki, and Naziha Atti
Arch. Anim. Breed., 68, 57–66, https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-68-57-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-68-57-2025, 2025
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The study evaluated the effects of crude protein levels (high: 16 %, low: 11 %) on meat traits and fatty acid (FA) profiles of three sheep breeds. Only the breed type affected the FA profile: palmitic acid (C16:0) was higher in Queue Fine de l'Ouest (QFO), while stearic acid (C18:0) was higher in Barbarin (BB) and Noire de Thibar (NT). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and PUFA/saturated fatty acid (SFA) ratio were higher in BB. Health indices were favorable in BB and NT.
Samir Smeti, Hadhami Hajji, Margalida Joy, and Naziha Atti
Arch. Anim. Breed., 67, 177–184, https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-67-177-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-67-177-2024, 2024
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Rosemary essential oils could be recommended for dairy ewes fed silage to improve the nutritional quality of their milk for human consumption.
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Arch. Anim. Breed., 65, 113–120, https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-65-113-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-65-113-2022, 2022
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Oak acorn diets fed to lambs during the pre-weaning period did not negatively affect their future growth performance. Replacing barley grain with oak acorn in concentrate during the post-weaning period had no effects on a lamb’s growth performance, health and viability. Oak acorn can replace up to 40 % of barley grain in finishing feedlot lamb diets. The substitution of oak acorn for barley has no effects on carcass traits.
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Short summary
This study explores the potential of using cull ewe meat to enhance the value of traditional sheep meat products, focusing on the Tunisian dried meat "kaddid". Two local sheep breeds, i.e. Noire de Thibar (NT) and Barbarine (BR), were evaluated at two slaughter ages (3 months and 5 years). Results showed that BR raw meat had more antioxidants (α-tocopherols) and healthy fats; however, kaddid from NT ewes had higher tocopherol levels, with favourable polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) profiles.
This study explores the potential of using cull ewe meat to enhance the value of traditional...