ABSTRACT
In Cameroon, foods of animal origin are an important part of the
population’s diet. To improve meat consumption
and assure its safety, the Government plan a project for the industrialization of cattle and pig industries by building a
slaughter chain, cold stores and acquiring of vehicles and trucks for the
transport of meat from livestock production areas to other parts of the
country. Maroua city in the Far North Region has been selected to host a modern
mixed slaughterhouse with a slaughter capacity of 150 cattle/day. To assess the
impact of this project, it is important to define a baseline in term of beef
quality prior to the implementation of such a project. Therefore, this study
aimed to evaluate the nutritional quality of beef in Maroua (as a reference for
livestock production area in Cameroon) in relation to demographics of cattle
(production system, type of production, age, breed, body condition score [BCS],
and sex). In 2014, data on demographics of 202 cattle, randomly selected in the
traditional slaughterhouses of Maroua were collected. At the end of the
slaughter chain, approximately 250 g of thigh were sampled from each animal selected. However, 76 randomly
selected thigh meat samples were suggested for chemical composition
analysis by using standard methods. Results revealed that dry matter (26.30% - 29.88% of fresh matter), ash (0.92% - 1.09% of fresh matter), total fat (10.12 - 19.58 of fresh matter) and protein (8.60% - 27.59% of fresh matter) content of beef were between
the acceptable ranges for table meats. The total protein content found was
affected by the BCS, the age at slaughter, the breed and the sex of the animal.
In addition, as expected, the total fat content increased with the BCS and
varied with the age at slaughter and the type of production. Since the fat
content decreased with age and varied with the type of production, it would be
interesting for further study, to determine the fatty acids profile of meat
from fattening cattle of less than 8 years old.
Share and Cite:
Ngom, R. , Ndzana, V. , Bohounbele, D. , Houli, V. , Oumara, B. and Pagnah, A. (2022) Nutritional Quality of Meat from Cattle Breed in Livestock Production Area of Cameroon.
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
12, 467-483. doi:
10.4236/ojas.2022.123035.