Are Marbling and the Prediction of Beef Eating Quality Affected by Different Grading Sites?

Jingjing Liu,Marie-Pierre Ellies-Oury,Grzegorz Pogorzelski,Jean-François Hocquette,Alix Neveu,David Pethick,Isabelle Legrand

doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.611153

Abstract

For the European abattoirs, the preferred carcass grading site is at the fifth rib, and cutting at the tenth rib as in Australia could lead to a lower economic value of the carcass. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the grading scores of marbling and the meat and fat color on Musculus longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) at the fifth and the tenth thoracic vertebrae. The consequences on the prediction of beef eating quality using the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading scheme were also evaluated for cull cows, which produce the majority of beef consumed in France. Carcasses from 208 French cattle, mainly Limousine cows, were graded according to the Australian Beef Carcase Chiller Assessment System (ABCAS) used for the implementation of the MSA system. The results indicate that there was no significant difference in the marbling score, between the fifth and the tenth ribs and hence in the MSA index and in the Global Quality [meat quality (MQ4)] scores calculated from marbling values from either the fifth rib or the tenth rib. However, the meat color at the tenth rib was significantly darker than that at the fifth rib (p < 0.01), and the fat color at the tenth rib was significantly yellower than that at the fifth rib (p < 0.001). The results of this study suggest that the grading of marbling can be conducted on M. LTL at the fifth thoracic vertebrae for routine use of the MSA system in France and, more generally, in Europe. However, further investigation and adjustment would be needed for other critical MSA scores (such as rib fat thickness) while respecting the European carcass quartering practices.

Highlights

A regular decline in beef consumption has become a big challenge for the European beef industry [1]
There were no significant differences between the values of AUS-MEAT and the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) marbling scores at two different locations
No significant difference was observed for the predicted MSA scores for other cuts (Table 2), as well as for the MSA index calculated from the MQ4 of the different cuts of the carcass (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

A regular decline in beef consumption has become a big challenge for the European beef industry [1]. Ellies-Oury et al [4] demonstrated that an eating quality guarantee scheme would be of interest to French consumers. The most advanced beef grading scheme is probably the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) system, which has been known as the most well-established beef eating quality guarantee. The aim of the MSA grading system is to ensure that, when consumers purchase a cut of beef, it will have the eating quality promised by the MSA label when it is cooked according to the recommended method [5]. The meat quality (MQ4) score was developed to rank the potential eating quality of individual muscle cuts, and the MSA index is used to assess the average eating quality across the whole beef carcass [6]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion