Carabao meat, anyone?

The meat of a crossbred carabao can be as good as beef if the carabao is raised the same way as a crossbred cattle.

Attesting to this is the result of a study titled "comparative study on the growth, carcass and meat characteristics of crossbred cattle and carabao".

The study was done by Dr. Arnel del Barrio, director of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) at the U.P. Los Baños. PCC, headed by Executive Director Libertao Cruz, is an agency under the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In his study funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and PCC, Dr. del Barrio compared the growth performance and meat characteristics of crossbred cattle and carabao raised under intensive system of production.

The research used 10 crossbred carabao (Murrah x Philippine carabao) and 10 crossbred cattle (Brahman x native). Both crossbreds were subjected to the same feeding regimen and management.

Results showed that average daily gain, feed conversion efficiency, return over feed costs, physical characteristics, lean-fat-bone ratio, and rib-eye area of the crossbreds were similar.

Moreover, the cosumers’ preference test showed comparable results between beef and carabeef in terms of meat color, flavor, off-flavor, tenderness, juiciness and general acceptability.

"The findings indicate that carabao raised the same way as cattle will produce quality meat similar to beef," stated Dr. Elaine F. Lanting, assistant director of the Livestock Research Division, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

Dr. Lanting said that carabeef is generally priced much lower than beef owing to consumer perpection that carabeef is more fibrous and tougher than beef. This perception is partially true as most of the slaughtered carabaos are old and retired draft animals.

She said that with the lifting of the carabao slaughter ban in 1998 through the enactment of Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act) and DA-PCC’s sustained efforts to improve the carabao through crossbreeding, the number of crossbred carabao is expected to increase. – Rudy A. Fernandez