Effect of different freezing temperatures on the physical, technological, and organoleptic properties of aged semimembranosus muscles from farmed fallow deer (Dama dama)

Although venison could play an important role in human nutrition, this meat remains undervalued and still contributes very little to the formal meat industry. Moreover, information on processing methods of fallow deer meat and overall quality is still very limited. The objective of this study was to determine how physical, technological, and organoleptic properties differ between 14-day-aged vacuum-packaged fallow deer meat stored either chilled or frozen at different temperatures (-10 °C, -18 °C, -40 °C and -80 °C) for six months. Physical, technological, and organoleptic analyses were conducted on semimembranosus muscles (SM) obtained from farmed fallow deer bucks (n= 10). Freezing significantly increased meat redness, yellowness, chroma values, cooking loss and tenderness compared to fresh meat but did not affect pH values, lightness, thawing, or grilling loss. Mean pH readings were 5.5–5.6, being highest in the samples measured one day after slaughter. Freezing at -80 °C had the most pronounced effect on some sensory attributes, namely, the highest game meat aroma intensity, sour odour, sour flavour and the lowest chewiness. The findings indicate that a freezing temperature of -18 °C and subsequent slow thawing might be preferential in terms of maintaining fallow deer meat quality.