Carcass and meat characteristics of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)

Seven Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) of 1300 mm length were slaught ered in order to established baseline values for component yields and expec ted percentage of lean meat, fat and bone for this species. The skin presen ts nearly 20% of the live weight of the Nile crocodile, while a dressing pe rcentage of 56.5% was derived. The tail realised 18 and 33% of the live wei ght and empty carcass weight respectively. Values of 60.8, 12.2 and 26.6% o f carcass weight were obtained for total lean meat, fat and bone respective ly. A pH value of +/-6.5 at 24h post-mortem in both tail and leg muscles an d a decreasing pH towards 48h post-mortem illustrated that rigor mortis is still not complete when crocodile carcasses are processed. While fat conten t differed statistically (P < 0.05) from 91.1g kg(-1) in raw torso samples to 29.4g kg(-1) in raw neck samples, protein content was relatively constan t around a mean of 220.8g kg(-1) in raw meat. Cooking did not have any infl uence of practical value on proximate, amino acid or mineral composition. C rocodile meat is characterised by a lower iron, magnesium and sodium conten t than either beef or chicken. Of the total fatty acids present in the tail samples, 37.7% were saturated, 51.1% monounsaturated and 10.7% polyunsatur ated. Oleic acid was predominant (43.1%), whilst palmitic acid (25.4%), ste aric acid (9.9%) and linoleic acid (9.1%) were also present in high concent rations. (C) 2000 Society of Chemical Industry.