The influence of the degree of maturity and thermal processing on the content of B vitamins in beef

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the content of B vitamins in various culinary elements of raw beef with differing degree of maturity. The types of thermal processing chosen for the study were: frying, grilling and/or roasting. The study material consisted of meat purchased in meat industrial plants immediately after the slaughter of animals at the age of 20-25 months. There were 5 culinary elements chosen for the study: topside spread, tenderloin, rump cut, shoulder and silverside, which were vacuum packed directly after the slaughter and kept refrigerated at 1oC in order to obtain different degrees of maturity (5, 10 and 15 days). It has been shown that beef is a good source of vitamin B12 and a poor source of other B vitamins, i.e. thiamine (B1) or riboflavin. Topside spread and shoulder contained the least of vitamin B12 and niacin (vit PP), however, a considerably higher content of these vitamins was observed in tenderloin, rump cut and silverside. Additionally, the content of thiamine (vit B1), riboflavin (vit B2) and vit B6 varied considerably in different culinary elements of beef, however, it did not depend on the curing time.