EN
The principles of organic livestock production are included in the Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products. Animals in this breeding system are fed organically produced feed, in accordance with the above mentioned regulation. Organic food might be defined as a product of an agricultural system where artificial pesticides and mineral fertilizers are not used. In the case of animal production the use of antibiotics and growth promoters is forbidden. The demand for organic animal products is continually growing in Europe as well as in other parts of the world. The present paper reviews articles on the quality of organic meat. The analysis of the research carried out to date justifies the conclusion that meat from organic husbandry shows the following positive quality traits: a higher muscle weight in breasts and thighs, a lower total fat content in the carcass, a higher content of intramuscular fat, different composition of fatty acids (considerably lower n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio) and better sensory quality. Negative traits of organic beef and pork are a lower total carcass weight and a higher value of TBARS - tiobarbituric reactive substances, indicating faster lipid oxidation and consequently a shorter shelf-life.