Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Meat: Production, Processing and Quality

This book provides an overview of the buffalo meat industry. Chapter topics include production systems, nutritional interventions for designer meat production, composition and nutritional quality of buffalo meat, value addition, processing, packaging, and quality assurance programme.

Buffalo meat is meat derived from water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Buffalo meat is also called Cara beef, and is the healthiest meat among red meats for its low calories and cholesterol content. Buffaloes (riverine or swamp) are found in over 50 countries including India, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Bulgaria, Italy, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Australia and Egypt, and South Asia is home to some of the best buffalo breeds in the world. Buffaloes play a significant role in the rural economy of farmers and contribute to nutritional security, especially in south Asian developing countries.

The core components of the book are housing, feeding, breeding, disease management of buffaloes, which are the factors affecting buffalo meat production and its quality. The book also covers requirements for establishing buffalo abattoir, process of buffalo slaughter, techniques for evaluation of meat quality, processing, preservation, packaging, zoonotic diseases, byproduct processing, species identification, traceability, etc. It also discusses the applications of advanced techniques like genomics and proteomics for predicting meat quality and an overview of the international status of buffalo farming and the international trade of buffalo meat.

This book provides a valuable reference for the academics and industry/ government stakeholders. The content will help promote research and education and contribute to the development of the sector.