Four Italian Mediterranean (IM) buffaloes and four Italian Simmental (IS) young bulls were used to compare the meat production aptitude of the two species. Intake, body measurement and live weight were recorded from 7 weeks to 10 months of age, when the animals were slaughtered. Several carcass traits were measured before the collection of two muscle sections (longissimus thoracis, LT, and semitendinosus, ST), which were used for physical, chemical and sensory analysis of meat. Buffalo grew at a slower rate (930 vs. 1040 g/day for buffalo and bulls, respectively; P=0.07), requiring 14 more days than bulls to reach a comparable live weight (312 vs. 329 kg). At 10 months, buffaloes had shorter body and carcass lengths (115.3 vs. 125.1 cm and 108.7 vs. 114.2 cm, respectively) than cattle and presented a wider rump and better cross conformations, as a consequence of the thickness (22.5 vs. 21.0 cm) and shortness (36.7 vs. 40.6 cm) of their thighs. Carcass weights did not differ between species, but the buffalo hindquarter had a greater proportion of trimmed fat (13.4% vs. 8.9%, P<0.01). Buffalo meat was redder and more tender than beef (a*: 23.7 vs. 18.8, P<0.01; shear force: 46.3 vs. 68.8 N, P<0.01). Buffalo intramuscular fat exhibited higher (P<0.01) saturated fatty acid (FA) percentage than bovine (44.4% vs. 36.9%), owing to a greater concentration of stearic acid (21.5% vs. 14.4%), and poorer (P<0.01) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels (18.6% vs. 28.6%), with a significantly higher n6-PUFA/n3-PUFA ratio (16.7 vs. 12.3). The overall acceptability of buffalo and bovine raw meat did not differ significantly, but the tenderness of beef meat was perceived to be significantly better than buffalo. On the contrary, consumers rated differently the flavour, tenderness and overall acceptability of the cooked meats, providing higher hedonistic scores to buffalo meat products. The classification test confirmed the effectiveness of texture and flavour attributes in discriminating buffalo meat and beef acceptability.
