There was no significant difference (p N 0.05) in pH among treatments,
with a mean value of 5.33 (Table 3). All samples showed a significant
decrease (p = 0.0002) in pH over time (Fig. 3), presumably due
the growth of lactic acid bacteria, as their metabolismconsumes cellular
glycogen and lactic acid is released, causing acidification (Cayré et al.,
2003). According to Gonçalves, Zapata, Rodrigues, and Borges (2004),
the desirable pH for lamb meat is in the range of 5.4 and 5.9, close to
the values found in this experiment.