The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different aging temperatures prior to freezing on quality
attributes of frozen/thawed lamb loins. The loins (M. longissimus lumborum; n = 32) were randomly allocated to
one of the four different aging/freezing treatments: aged only (−1.5 °C for 14 days) and aged (−1.5 °C for
14 days, 3 °C for 8 days, or 7 °C for 8 days) then frozen/thawed loins. The loins aged at elevated temperatures
(3 °C or 7 °C) for 8 days had equivalent shear force, protein degradation and purge loss values compared to the
loins aged at −1.5 °C for 14 days (P N 0.05). However, significantly higher drip loss and less color stability
were observed in the loins with increasing aging temperatures compared to the loins aged at −1.5 °C. These
results suggest that application of elevated aging temperatures could shorten required aging periods prior to
freezing, while not adversely affecting tenderness and purge loss of frozen/thawed meat.