The Inclusion of Pea in Concentrates Had Minor Effects on the Meat Quality of Light Lambs

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The use of local protein sources, such as pea (Pisum sativum), has been encouraged to reduce the dependency of Europe on soybean meal imports. Changes in the ingredients of iso-energetic concentrates may affect the fatty acid profiles of the concentrates and other secondary compounds and, therefore, affect meat quality parameters. The objective of the study was to compare the carcass colour, and the meat quality parameters (texture, chemical composition, lipid oxidation, fatty acids) of lambs fed concentrates with different proportions of pea for replacing soybean meal. The inclusion of pea had no effects on carcass colour and minor effects on the fatty acid profile. Therefore, the inclusion of pea can be recommended to increase the self-sufficiency of lamb production systems. ABSTRACT: The use of pea (Pisum sativum) has been recommended to replace soybean meal in the diet of ruminants, but it may affect meat quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the proportion of pea (0%, 10%, 20% and 30%) in fattening concentrates fed to light lambs for 41 days on carcass colour and on the meat quality. Pea inclusion affected neither the colour of the lamb carcasses nor affected most of the parameters of the meat quality. However, the inclusion of pea affected the cholesterol content, and the 20%pea concentrate yielded meat with greater cholesterol contents than the 30%pea concentrate did (p < 0.05). The inclusion of pea had minor effects on individual FAs but affected the total saturated fatty acids (p < 0.01) and the thrombogenicity index (p < 0.05). A greater total saturated fatty acid content was recorded for the 20%pea concentrate than for the rest of the concentrates, and a greater thrombogenicity index was recorded for the 20% concentrate than for the 10%pea concentrate. The results indicated the viability of the inclusion of pea in the fattening concentrate of light lambs without impairing meat quality, with the 30%pea concentrate being the most suitable to reduce the soya-dependency.