Abstract
The South African classification system describes beef carcasses in regard to visual fat cover, conformation and age by dentition. Animal age provides a fairly accurate description of expected eating quality in regard to tenderness in an industry where other sources of variation in tenderness are limited. Since deregulation in the beef industry in the 90s many changes have occurred in all parts of the value chain. This paper presents a number of case studies that focussed on the sources of variation in meat quality, but in particular on sources of changes in meat tenderness over the past two decades. These sources include feeding regime, the use of beta agonists, post mortem ageing and electrical stimulation. In some studies these factors are integrated with age or interactions among two or more of these factors are investigated.Keywords: Age, beef, classification, dentition, grading
Highlights
Smith et al (2008) described the consumer process in terms of a ‘customer’ whose preference is influenced by appearance characteristics
Shorthose & Harris (1990) found that the LD is a very poor muscle to use as a reference for the prediction of tenderness. Another South African study completed at the same time as the work of Crosley et al (1984), but published recently, confirmed an age-related increase in heat-stability of connective tissue and that the higher the collagen content of a cut, the more it will be affected by age even when the correct cooking method is used and even when the collagen solubility is high (Schönfeldt & Strydom, 2011)
Sources of variation in quality of South African beef according to case studies While age by dentition is the only quality related criterion in the SA classification system, sufficient evidence exists to show that factors other than age may have an effect on tenderness
Summary
Smith et al (2008) described the consumer process in terms of a ‘customer’ (person who purchases) whose preference is influenced by appearance characteristics (e.g. relative proportions of muscle, fat and bone, amount of marbling, colour of fat and lean, freedom from defects). Another South African study completed at the same time as the work of Crosley et al (1984), but published recently, confirmed an age-related increase in heat-stability of connective tissue (collagen; Figure 2) and that the higher the collagen content of a cut, the more it will be affected by age even when the correct cooking method is used (moist heat cooking) and even when the collagen solubility is high (Schönfeldt & Strydom, 2011).
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