Abstract

The authors investigated the effects of breed (Brahman, Bonsmara, Simbrah and Simmental crosses) and post-mortem ageing on meat tenderness, purge, cooking loss and ultimate pH of the longissimus muscle under commercial production and slaughter conditions of the Namibian beef export industry. Fifty steers of each breed cross, at an average age of 2½ years and with an average subcutaneous fat cover of 2 mm over the 9th–10th thoracic vertebrae, were included in this study. The Brahman (BRX) differed significantly ( P < 0.05) from all other breed crosses in all ageing treatments, recording higher Warner-Bratzler shear force values. The Bonsmara (BNX) steers showed the highest rate of tenderization and maintained this advantage up to day 30 post mortem. Purge and cooking loss increased initially and then tapered off over ageing time. BNX steers recorded the highest cooking loss. Keywords: beef, breeds, cooking loss, grass-fed, purge, tenderness

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.