The influence of humic acids on the organoleptic and physico-chemical indicators of veal
Authors: Yakubchak O. , Tyshkivskaya N. , Kravchenko I. , Mazur T. , Tyshkivsky M. 
Published: July 2024

In today's conditions, the issue of food security is acute. The reason for the aggravation is the fullscale war on the territory of Ukraine, which causes not only a reduction in the number of animals, but also a forced change of rations, taking into account the lack of fodder. To meet the demands of consumers in meat, the demand for which is increasing, producers often use growth stimulants and feed antibiotics. The ban on their use in the European Union entered into force in 2006. That is why, the use of alternative natural growth stimulators, among which a special place is occupied by organic fodder mixtures made on the basis of humic acids. The aim of the work was to determine the effect of organic fodder mixture made on the basis of humic acids on live body weight, slaughter parameters of the carcass and meat quality of cattle. In the research process, generally accepted methods were used: zootechnical (determination of animal body weight, average daily growth, fattening categories), clinical (evaluation of appearance, motor activity, feed consumption), laboratory: organoleptic (color, smell, consistency, taste, juiciness and aroma of meat, broth transparency), physico-chemical (pH value, mass fraction of moisture, protein, fat) and statistical. The influence of humic acids on the weight gain of cattle aged 6-8 months and their fatness was studied. Along with this, changes in the slaughter parameters of carcasses, organoleptic and physicochemical parameters of veal were studied. It was established that the addition of humic acids to the diet of animals for 50 days contributes to an increase in average daily gains by 18% and an improvement in fatness. The weight of animals in the experimental group increased by 38.4±3.7 kg (p˂0.01), compared to the beginning of the experiment, the average daily gain is 783.6±75.8 g, against 570.1±85.8 g (p˂0.1) in the control group. The slaughter weight of the animals of the experimental group was higher by 8.0 kg (p˂0.1) compared to the control, the weight of the carcasses of the experimental group was 6.3 kg higher than the value of the control, the slaughter yield of the carcasses of the experimental group was 1.3% higher than control The color of the veal of the experimental group was more intense than that of the control group; the reason for this may be the acceleration of myoglobin synthesis under the influence of humic acids. Experts rated the smell of the samples obtained from the carcasses of experimental animals at 4.10±0.86 points against 3.78±0.69 of the control ones. The aroma of the meat was also evaluated with a higher score in the Bugai people of the experimental group compared to the control group. The mass share of proteins in the veal of the experimental group exceeded the indicators of the control group by p<0.05, which indicates a positive effect of the use of humic acids on protein synthesis. The mass fraction of fat in the meat of animals of the experimental and control groups probably did not differ on average by group and was 0.76±0.18 and 0.87±0.12%, respectively. Humic acids can affect the distribution of fats and proteins in the body and, thus, change the composition of meat. The pH of the meat of the animals of the experimental and control groups probably did not differ (p><0.1), with an average value of 5.67±0.06 to 5.79±0.04 units, respectively. Key words: humic acids, slaughter yield, average daily gain, organoleptic indicators, pH, mass fraction of proteins, mass fraction of fat.> <0.05, which indicates a positive effect of the use of humic acids on protein synthesis. The mass fraction of fat in the meat of animals of the experimental and control groups probably did not differ on average by group and was 0.76±0.18 and 0.87±0.12%, respectively. Humic acids can affect the distribution of fats and proteins in the body and, thus, change the composition of meat. The pH of the meat of the animals of the experimental and control groups probably did not differ (p<0.1), with an average value of 5.67±0.06 to 5.79±0.04 units, respectively.
Key words: humic acids, slaughter yield, average daily gain, organoleptic indicators, pH, mass fraction of proteins, mass fraction of fat.