Physicochemical Meat Quality and Sensory Property of Holstein Steer Beef Produced by Different Fattening Periods

Abstract

Abstract This study was performed to investigate the physico-chemical properties of Holstein steer beef loin ( M. longissimus dorsi )and top round ( M. semimembranosus ) from 18, 21 and 24-mon old. The loin and top round muscles from the 24-mon grouphad higher intramuscular fat content (%) than the other groups ( p 0.05). With regard to meat color (CIE), the lightness (L*), redness (a*) and yellowness (b*)values of the loin were significantly higher for the 21- and 24-mon groups, and those of the top round were significantlyhigher for the 21-mon group than the same cuts in the other groups. The Warner-Bratzler shear force was the lowest at 24mon for both the loin and top round muscles (3.69 kg); however, the water holding capacity was significantly higher for loinmuscles from the 21-mon group (54.53%, p<0.05). The loin muscles from the 24-mon group contained significantly higherlevels of monounsaturated fatty acid and significantly lower levels of saturated fatty acid than those in the other groups(p<0.05). The tenderness, juiciness, flavor-likeness and the overall-likeness scores were significantly higher for beef fromthe 21- and 24-mon groups than that from the 18-mon group. The results of this study indicate that both the slaughtering ageand muscle type significantly affect meat quality. Therefore, fattening the beef for more than 4 mon during the late fatteningstage would be advantageous for the meat quality of Holstein steers.Key words: fattening period, Holstein steer, meat quality, fatty acids, sensory property