Effect of different electrical stunning methods on meat quality of marmara Kivircik breed lamb in Turkey Republic

The effects of head-only electrical stunning method were compared with the effects of headtoback electrical stunning method. A total of 90 kivircik breed lambs were randomly allocated immediately prior to slaughter to one of three stunning treatments: control group (C), head only group (HO; 1.0 AAC for 3 s at a frequency of 50 Hz), head to back group (HB; 1,0 A- AC for3s ata frequency of 50 Hz) electrical stunning. Meat quality was assessed by examining pH, color as L, a, b values, water holding capacity (WHC) and shear force. The effect on meat quality was assessed in head-only electrically stunned, head to back electrically stunned and non-stunned lambs. Shear forces were not significantly different between treatments. However color (L*,a*,b*), water holding capacity (WHC) and muscle ultimate pH were found to be significantly higher (P