Towards an integration of pre- and post-slaughter factors affecting the eating quality of beef

Abstract

Eating quality is one of the most important traits by which consumers evaluate satisfaction and make decisions on future beef purchases. Unfortunately, the beef on the market is of inconsistent quality. Therefore, meat producers supplying beef of good and consistent quality would be more competitive in the beef market. The main attributes of eating quality are flavor, juiciness, tenderness, and overall liking. Beef eating quality is an intrinsic quality trait, which depends on both pre- and post-slaughter factors. In this review, we attempt to describe the impact of the major factors determining beef eating quality throughout the production chain such as: breed, farming systems, animal welfare, electrical stimulation, carcass suspension methods, chilling process associated with pH drop and aging methods. As part of this review, some the effects were extracted and summarized to give an overview of the magnitude of the effects and to understand which effects have the greatest impact.