Physical, Chemical and Microbiological Characteristics of Meat from Boer Goats Fed With Napier Grass and Oil Palm Frond

The nutrients in feed may affect the performance of the livestock including its meat quality. Oil palm frond have been utilised as animal feed for lowering the feed cost and
conserving the environment. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of the inclusion of pretreated oil palm frond (OPF) in the diet of Boer goats
that may improve the physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics of the goat’s meat. The animal feed trial was conducted at Agrotechnopark, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Jeli Campus. Nine (9) Boer goats were selected and randomly assigned to 3 different dietary groups. The goats were fed with Napier grass, freshly chopped OPF, pressed OPF and commercial goat pellets. The goats were slaughtered and the longissimus dorsi muscle of the goats was analyzed for determination of the physical (texture profile and colour analysis), chemical (proximate
analysis) and microbiological characteristics. The hardness of the meat range from 169.33 to 382.33 (g) and the springiness of meat range from 2.63 to 3.66 (mm). The lightness of meat range from 24.85 to 29.46, the redness range from 10.68 to 14.18 and the yellowness of meat range from 6.27 to 7.49. The dry matter of the meat range from
24.29 to 29.4%, the crude protein range from 67.2 to 74.68%, the ether extract range from 3.41 to 8.46% and the ash content range from 4.93 to 10.11%. The total plate count of the meat range from 1000 to 4400 cfu/ml. In conclusion, if the OPF was included in the goat's diet, it resulted in the increased value of the goat meat that can increase the consumer's preference.