Intramuscular lipids of Mertolenga-PDO beef, Mertolenga-PDO veal and “Vitela Tradicional do Montado”-PGI veal

Three quality branded meats (n = 68), “Vitela Tradicional do Montado”-PGI veal, Mertolenga-PDO veal and Mertolenga-PDO beef were analysed for cholesterol (HPLC-UV), α-tocopherol (HPLC-FD), fatty acid composition (GC-FID), including conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomeric profile (Ag⁺-HPLC), and nutritional value of lipids. All the meats analysed had similar contents (P > 0.05) of cholesterol, α-tocopherol and intramuscular fat. In contrast, the percentage of 18:0 was lower for PGI veal, and that of 18:1 c9 was higher in PDO veal, whilst the percentage of 18:2 n−6 was higher in PDO beef, relative to other two meats. The content of total CLA and the percentage of its t11,c13 isomer were higher, and the n−6/n−3 ratio was lower, in PDO veal, relative to the other two meats. The data suggested that PGI veal has higher variability for most fatty acids than the other two types of meat. Finally, a discriminant analysis was conducted and the three meat types were well discriminated using the meat fatty acid profile as variables.