Sensory Panel Tenderness Ratings Research Articles

Estimation of relationships between mineral concentration and fatty acid composition of longissimus muscle and beef palatability traits1

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of beef LM nutrient components on beef palatability traits and evaluate the impact of USDA quality grade on beef palatability. Longissimus muscle samples from related Angus cattle (n = 1,737) were obtained and fabricated into steaks for trained sensory panel, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), lipid oxidation measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), fatty acid, and mineral composition analysis. Pearson phenotypic correlations were obtained by the correlation procedure of SAS. Beef palatability data were analyzed by the GLM procedure of SAS with USDA quality grade as the main effect. Specific mineral concentrations did not demonstrate strong correlations with WBSF or sensory traits (r = -0.14 to 0.16). However, minerals appeared to have a stronger relationship with flavor; all minerals evaluated except Ca and Mn were positively correlated (P < 0.05) with beef flavor. Stearic acid (C18:0), C18:2, C20:4, and PUFA were negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with all 3 panelist tenderness traits (r = -0.09 to -0.22) and were positively correlated (P < 0.05) with WBSF (r = 0.09 to 0.15). The MUFA were positively correlated (P < 0.05) with panelist tenderness ratings (r = 0.07 to 0.10) and negatively associated (P < 0.05) with WBSF (r = -0.11). The strongest correlations with juiciness were negative relationships (P < 0.05) with C18:2, C18:3, C20:4, and PUFA (r = -0.08 to -0.20). Correlations with beef flavor were weak, but the strongest was a positive relationship with MUFA (r = 0.13). Quality grade affected (P < 0.05) WBSF, TBARS, and all trained sensory panel traits, except livery/metallic flavor. As quality grade increased, steaks were more tender (P < 0.05), as evidenced by both WBSF and sensory panel tenderness ratings. Prime steaks were rated juiciest (P < 0.05) by panelists, whereas Select and Low Choice were similarly rated below Top Choice for sustained juiciness. Quality grade influenced (P < 0.05) beef flavor, but not in a linear fashion. Although there were significant correlations, these results indicate tenderness, juiciness, and flavor are not strongly influenced by individual nutrient components in beef LM. Furthermore, the positive linear relationships between USDA quality grade and beef palatability traits suggest quality grade is still one of the most valuable tools available to predict beef tenderness.

Tenderness, sensory, and color attributes of two muscles from the M. quadriceps femoris when fabricated using a modified hot-boning technique1,2,3

The M. quadriceps femoris from USDA Choice (n = 12) and USDA Select (n = 12) carcasses were fabricated traditionally (COLD) or innovatively (HOT), in which the seams it shares with the top round and bottom round were separated prerigor to evaluate positional and locational effects on Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), sensory attributes, and objective color. At slaughter, paired USDA Choice and USDA Select carcasses were alternately assigned either the HOT or COLD treatment. At 48 h postslaughter, subprimals were removed, vacuum-packaged, and aged for an additional 5 d. After aging, the M. quadriceps femoris was cut into 2.54-cm-thick steaks and allowed to bloom 1 h. For the M. rectus femoris (REC) and M. vastus lateralis (VAL), L* values significantly (P < 0.050) decreased when moving from the proximal to distal position within the muscle. Similarly, a* and b* values decreased in the VAL when moving from the proximal to the distal aspect. After color measurement, steaks were vacuum-packaged and frozen (-26 degrees C) until shear and sensory data were collected. Significant position (proximal to distal) and location effects (cranial to caudal) were noted for both muscles. However, treatment did not affect WBSF of the VAL. Although intramuscular variation existed, WBSF and sensory panel tenderness ratings were acceptable for the REC. Although WBSF values were greater and tenderness ratings were less than the REC, the VAL were not extremely tough and therefore could be used in enhancement applications.

The Effect of Tumbling Time on the Quality and Binding Ability of Restructured Beef M. Pectoralis profundus with Alginate Binder

Meats with alginate binders including sodium alginate, glucono-delta-lactone and calcium carbonate were tested in restructured steaks made from M. pectoralis profundus of beef steers in terms of meat quality and binding ability by tumbling time. The treatment with 25 min tumbling time was significantly lower (p<0.05) for crude protein than 5 and 15 min, while higher (p<0.05) for moisture content. This corresponded with sensory panel juiciness ratings, which showed the treatment for longer tumbling times to be significantly juicier (p<0.05) than that for a shorter time. Cooking loss decreased (p<0.05) linearly with an increased tumbling time, and Kramer shear force also significant decreased (p<0.05) with tumbling time. This corresponded with sensory panel tenderness ratings, which showed that the treatment for longer tumbling times was more tender (p<0.05). The texture results indicated that longer tumbling time had lower (p<0.05) hardness and chewiness values. Sensory panels ranked binding ability in the order 5 min, 15 min and 25 min from best to worst, and the overall acceptability for slices from roasts of treatments for 5 and 15 min were rated by the sensory panelists as moderate to very acceptable, but those for 25 min were rated as fair to moderate.

Effects of enhancement procedures on whole and re-formed beef forequarter muscles

Beef Supraspinatus and Triceps brachii muscles were subjected to three enhancement and/or re-forming treatments: (i) injected whole @ 15%w/w with salt-phosphate solution; (ii) injected and re-formed; (iii) injected with added flavouring and re-formed. The treated muscles were compared to whole uninjected controls. All injection treatments reduced shear force values of cooked samples and in most cases these reductions were reflected in sensory panel tenderness and chewiness ratings. For example, shear values for Supraspinatus were 83 N/g in control samples and 50 in whole injected samples, while corresponding sensory panel tenderness ratings were 3.6 and 5.2. Enhanced samples did not differ from controls in sliceability or in colour and binding ratings, indicating that enhancement combined with re-forming can give an acceptable roast beef product. There were no differences in drip loss and very few differences in colour L*, a* and b* values for raw samples between any of the treatments. Addition of beef stock did not result in higher flavour ratings by sensory panels. Whole injected samples scored higher for flavour than both control ( p < 0.01) and injected + re-formed ( p < 0.05) samples.

On-line classification of US Select beef carcasses for longissimus tenderness using visible and near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy

The current experiment was conducted to evaluate the on-line application of visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (VISNIR) to US Select carcasses during commercial beef carcass grading procedures to predict tenderness of longissimus steaks after 14 days of refrigerated storage. A regression model was calibrated using 146 carcasses and tested against an additional 146 carcasses. Carcasses were segregated into VISNIR-based tenderness classes based on whether their VISNIR-predicted slice shear force value was less than (tender) or greater than (tough) the median predicted slice shear force value. Carcasses classified as tender by VISNIR had a lower mean SSF value, were less likely to have slice shear force values greater than 245 N, had higher trained sensory panel tenderness ratings, and were less likely to have trained sensory panel tenderness ratings below slightly tender than were carcasses classified as tough (P<0.001). This technology might be useful for identification of US Select carcasses that excel in longissimus tenderness.

Characterization of certified Angus beef steaks from the round, loin, and chuck.

Beef carcasses (n = 150) of A-maturity were selected randomly to determine baseline shear force and sensory panel ratings, assess variation in tenderness, and evaluate mean value differences between Certified Angus Beef (CAB), commodity Choice, and Select steaks. Three steaks were removed from the triceps brachii (TB), longissimus lumborum (LL), gluteus medius (GM), semimembranosus (SM), biceps femoris (BF), and quadriceps femoris complex (QF), and assigned to Warner-Bratzler shear (WBSF) and sensory panel analyses. As anticipated, marbling score and measured percentage of i.m. fat were greatest (P < 0.05) for CAB, intermediate (P < 0.05) for Choice, and least (P < 0.05) for Select carcasses. A muscle x quality level interaction (P < 0.05) was observed for WBSF values and sensory panel tenderness ratings. The TB, LL, GM, and BF steaks from CAB carcasses had lower (P < 0.05) WBSF than Select steaks from the same muscles. Even though WBSF values did not differ (P > 0.05) between CAB and Choice QF and TB steaks, the LL and GM steaks from CAB carcasses were more tender (P < 0.05) than Choice-grade LL and GM steaks. The TB from Select carcasses had higher (P < 0.05) WBSF values than TB steaks from CAB or Choice carcasses, but sensory panel ratings indicated that quality level showed little consistency among the GM, SM, BF, and QF. Trained sensory panelists rated CAB LL steaks more tender (P < 0.05) than LL steaks from Choice and Select carcasses, and Choice LL steaks were evaluated as more (P < 0.05) tender than those from Select carcasses. These results demonstrate that the influence of marbling on tenderness was more evident in muscles of middle meats than in end cuts, particularly in muscles of the round.

Consumer impressions of Tender Select beef.

With the recent development of technology to classify beef for tenderness, it is now possible for packers and retailers to market brands of beef known to be consistently tender. The present experiment was conducted to determine consumer impressions of Tender Select, a model beef brand comprised of cuts from tender U.S. Select carcasses. A telephone survey was conducted in metropolitan Denver, CO, to recruit consumers (n = 1,036) for this study. Consumers who met minimal limits for household income, age, and beef consumption were invited to participate in a beef shopping and usage study in a local supermarket. Point-of-purchase material was developed that described Tender Select as "the only steak guaranteed tender and lean." When shown a copy of the Tender Select concept card, 89% of participating consumers (n = 759) indicated that they would definitely or probably buy that product. Of those consumers that said they would buy the product, 35% indicated that their purchases of Tender Select would be in addition to their current fresh meat purchases. Most consumers (54.1%) indicated that if Tender Select was available at their grocery store, 1 or 2 of their next 10 purchases of beef cuts would be Tender Select. Sixty-five percent of consumers indicated that if a grocery store carried a line of beef cuts guaranteed to be tender, they would buy all of their beef at that store. Both strip loins from 104 U.S. Select beef carcasses, representing a broad range (8.7 to 43.4 kg; CV = 42%) in slice shear force (SSF) at 14 d postmortem, were used to determine the effect of SSF classification on consumer satisfaction and the correlation among trained sensory panel descriptive attribute ratings and in-home consumer ratings of beef longissimus steaks. Both trained sensory panelists and consumers rated low-SSF steaks higher than the high-SSF steaks for all traits (P < 0.001). All consumer traits (like, tenderness, juiciness, flavor like, flavor amount, and overall satisfaction) were more highly correlated with SSF and trained sensory panel tenderness ratings than with sensory panel flavor or juiciness ratings. These data show that tenderness is the primary determinant of satisfaction among consumers of U.S. Select top loin steaks and that a segment of consumers would pay a premium to purchase guaranteed-tender U.S. Select steaks.

Tenderness classification of beef: II. Design and analysis of a system to measure beef longissimus shear force under commercial processing conditions.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of a system for classifying beef for tenderness based on a rapid, simple method of measuring cooked longissimus shear force. Longissimus steaks (2.54 cm thick) were trimmed free of s.c. fat and bone and rapidly cooked using a belt grill. A 1-cm-thick, 5-cm-long slice was removed from the cooked longissimus parallel with the muscle fibers for measurement of shear force. Slices were sheared with a flat, blunt-end blade using an electronic testing machine. The entire process was completed in less than 10 min. Therefore, in commercial application, this process could be completed during the 10- to 15-min period that carcasses are normally held to allow the ribeye to bloom for quality grading. In Exp. 1, the repeatability of slice shear force (SSF), as determined by evaluation of duplicate samples from 204 A-maturity carcasses, was .89. In Exp. 2, A-maturity carcasses (n = 483) were classified into three groups based on SSF (< 23, 23 to 40, and > 40 kg) at 3 d postmortem that differed (P < .001) in mean trained sensory panel tenderness ratings (7.3 +/- .04, 6.4 +/- .06, and 4.4 +/- .20) and the percentages (100, 91, and 28%) of samples rated "Slightly Tender" or higher at 14 d postmortem. Therefore, this tenderness classification system could be used to accurately segregate beef carcasses into expected tenderness groups. Further research is needed to test the feasibility and accuracy of this system under a variety of commercial processing conditions.

Repeatability of tenderness measurements in beef round muscles.

The present experiment was conducted to determine 1) the repeatability of Warner-Bratzler shear force and trained sensory panel tenderness ratings in beef round cuts and 2) the effect of location within beef round cuts on shear force and tenderness ratings. Biceps femoris (BF) and semitendinosus (ST) were obtained from the carcasses of youthful (A-maturity), grain-fed, crossbred steers (n = 25) at 16 d postmortem. Steaks were removed from each muscle for determination of shear force and tenderness rating at each of three locations (A = proximal end, B = center, and C = distal end). Tenderness ratings of triplicate samples were slightly more repeatable than shear force for BF (R = .50 vs .30) and ST (R = .60 vs .56). However, all of those estimates of repeatability were much less than values we have obtained for beef longissimus using similar laboratory procedures (R = .79 to .90). Across both muscles and both methods of assessing tenderness, less than 40% of the total variance was accounted for by animal. The variance of tenderness rating among animals was less for BF (.12) and ST (.09) than values we have obtained for beef longissimus (.60). Location did not affect (P > .05) BF shear force; however, BF tenderness ratings were higher (P < .05) for location A (5.5) than for B (5.0) and C (5.2). Location accounted for a higher percentage of the total variance of ST tenderness rating and ST shear force than did animal. Shear force decreased (P < .05) from the proximal end to the distal end of ST (5.1, 4.6, and 3.9 kg for locations A, B, and C, respectively). Also, ST tenderness ratings were lower for location A (4.8) than for locations B (5.6) and C (5.7). Neither method of measuring tenderness was highly repeatable for BF or ST because there was little animal-to-animal variation in tenderness for these round muscles. Thus, there would be little opportunity for segregating round muscles into tenderness classes.

Relationship between shear force and trained sensory panel tenderness ratings of 10 major muscles from Bos indicus and Bos taurus cattle.

The present experiments were conducted to determine 1) the relationship between shear force and overall tenderness of 10 major beef muscles, 2) the effect of Bos indicus inheritance on the tenderness of various beef muscles, 3) whether differences in tenderness between genotype are affected by method of cookery, and 4) the relationship between tenderness of the longissimus and tenderness of other muscles. To meet the first objective, shear force and trained sensory panel overall tenderness were determined for psoas major (PM), infraspinatus (IS), triceps brachii (TB), longissimus (LD), semitendinosus (ST), gluteus medius (GM), supraspinatus (SS), biceps femoris (BF), semimembranosus (SM), and quadriceps femoris (QF) steaks from grain-fed steer carcasses (n = 16). Shear force did not accurately reflect differences among muscles in overall tenderness. To accomplish the remaining objectives, muscles were removed from grain-fed Bos taurus x Bos taurus (n = 31) and Bos indicus x Bos taurus (n = 18) steer carcasses and aged until 14 d postmortem. Shear force of LD, TB, SS, BF, and QF steaks and QF, BF, TB, and LD roasts was higher (P < .05) for progeny of Bos indicus sires than for progeny of Bos taurus sires. Shear force differences among genotypes were reduced slightly by roasting. Shear force of LD was not highly related to shear force of other muscles. Thus, systems that accurately predict the tenderness of LD of a carcass will likely do little to predict the tenderness of other muscles.

Using calcium chloride injection to improve tenderness of beef from mature cows1

The objective of this investigation was to determine the effect of calcium chloride (CaCl2) injection on Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS), sensory panel ratings, and collagen traits of mature cow beef. Within 30 min of exsanguination, subprimals (top round, TR; top sirloin, TS; strip loin, SL) from alternate sides of the carcass were injected with a .3 M CaCl2 solution (10% of the subprimal weight) and aged for 1, 7, or 14 d. The corresponding cold-boned cuts of the other side served as a control. Injecting CaCl2 eliminated the requirement for extended postmortem storage, as indicated by d 1 WBS. During the 14-d aging period, WBS of noninjected cuts decreased by 2.59 kg, whereas WBS of CaCl2-injected samples decreased by only .35 kg. Compared with control cuts, CaCl2 injection improved (P less than .05) d-14 WBS of steaks from SL, TS, and TR by 41.1, 40.1, and 15.3%, respectively. Additionally, CaCl2-injected subprimals exhibited higher (P less than .05) sensory panel tenderness ratings, lower (P less than .05) amounts of detectable connective tissue, and shorter (P less than .05) sarcomere lengths. No differences (P greater than .05) were observed in any quantitative collagen traits between CaCl2-injected and control cuts. These results indicate that CaCl2 injection improved ultimate tenderness and sensory ratings of meat from mature cow cuts.

The Effect of Three Temperature Conditioning Treatments and Subcutaneous Fat Removal on Lamb Quality

Thirty Suffolk and Suffolk crossbred ewe lambs w e r e blocked on live weight and randomly assigned to carcass conditioning treatments of 0, 16 and 23C for 8 h. Subcutaneous fat over the longissimus muscle and kidney fat were removed from the left side of each carcass during slaughter. The 23C conditioning treatment had significantly higher temperatures from 2 through 12 h compared with 0C and 16C treatments, and the 16C treatment had higher (P < .05) temperatures from 2 through 12 h compared with the 0~ treatment. There was an interaction between conditioning treatments and fat removal for postmortem temperature. The intact sides had significantly higher temperatures at 2 and 4 h for the 0C treatment, whereas trimmed sides had higher (P < .05) longissimus muscle temperatures than the intact sides at 6 h postmortem for both the 16 and 23C treatments. The conditioning treatments increased the pH decline; the 23C treatment had lower pH values at almost all time periods compared with the 0C treatment. The 16~ treatment had lower (P < .05) pH values at 6, 8 and 12 h postmortem than the 0~ treatment. The 16C treatment improved tenderness of the longissimus muscle, as indicated by lower shear force (3.45 kg) and higher sensory panel tenderness ratings (4.80) compared with the 0~ (4.74 kg and 3.82) and 23C (4.63 kg and 3.61) treatments. Fat removal had no significant effect on pH, sarcomere length, shear force or sensory panel ratings. The 16~ conditioning treatment improved lamb tenderness compared with 0 and 23C, whereas fat removal at slaughter had no significant effect on lamb quality. (

VARIATIONS IN THE SENSORY PROPERTIES OF BEEF AS AFFECTED BY SEX CONDITION, MUSCLE AND POSTMORTEM AGING

ABSTRACTThe longissimus (LD), biceps femoris (BF), psoas major (PM), semitendinosus (ST) and semimembranosus (SM) muscles from 8 bulls and 8 steers were removed from sides at 1 day postmortem and 7 days postmortem. The sensory and textural properties were evaluated and related to meat composition, meat characteristics and mineral content. Muscles were ranked in order of increasing sensory tenderness ratings: PM&gt;ST&gt;LD&gt;BF&gt;SM. The amount of intramuscular fat was found to be positively correlated to sensory panel tenderness ratings. The amount of intramuscular collagen was found to be negatively correlated to sensory panel tenderness ratings. Muscle concentrations of copper, iron and manganese were found to be positively correlated to tenderness ratings.

Effects of cryogenic chilling on beef carcass grade, shrinkage and palatability characteristics

Alternate right or left sides of 90 carcasses were randomly selected and chilled at −70°C for 5 h, held at +16°C for 4 h and held at 1°C for 15 h (rapid chill—RC). The remaining sides were chilled at −7°C for 24 h (conventional chill—CC). Physical measurements and USDA quality grade data were obtained at 24 h post mortem and palatability samples were collected at 3–5 days post mortem. RC sides had 0·9% less shrinkage ( P < 0·05) at 24 h post mortem when compared to paired CC sides. Beef sides that were given the RC treatment had a darker, softer lean ( P < 0·01) and received higher marbling scores ( P < 0·01) at 24 h post mortem than did CC sides. Loin steaks from RC sides had longer sarcomeres, less shear resistance and higher sensory panel tenderness ratings. It may be possible to rapidly chill carcasses with less carcass shrinkage and with no detrimental effects on USDA quality grade or on beef palatability.

Characterization of cutability and palatability attributes among different slaughter groups of beef cattle

Fifteen slaughter cattle from five groups (Charolais crossbred bulls, Brahman crossbred steers, Holstein steers, mixed-Exotic crossbred heifers and Hereford-Angus crossbred steers) were randomly selected from a commercial feedlot. Time-on-feed was 108, 114, 102, 108 and 145 days for the aforementioned groups, respectively. Carcasses from Charolais crossbred bulls had the highest percentage yield of chuck and round, but the lowest percentage yield of loin; hereford-Angus crossbred steers had the lowest percentage yield of round and Holstein steers had the lowest percentage yield of rib. Carcasses from Charolais crossbred bulls had the highest percentage yield of major retail-ready subprimals and lean trim, Hereford-Angus crossbred steers had the highest percentage yield of fat trim and Holstein steers had the highest percentage yield of bone from the major wholesale cuts. Mean percentage yields of closely trimmed, boneless retail cuts were highest for carcasses from the bulls and lowest for carcasses from the Hereford-Angus steers. Although Holstein steer carcasses had less fat trim than Brahman-crossbred steers mixed-Exotic heifers, this advantage was largely offset by their higher percentage of bone. Loin steaks from carcasses of Charolais crossbred bulls, Holstein, mixed-Exotic heifers were comparable (P > 0·05)with those of Hereford-Angus steers for shear force and sensory panel tenderness ratings. However, loin steaks from carcasses of Brahman-crossbred steers had significantly higher (P < 0·05) shear force values (least tender) and lower (P < 0·05) tenderness and overall palatability ratings. No diffeerences (P > 0·05) were found for flavor desirability of loin steaks among any of the groups. For bottom round steaks, Hereford-Angus steers received the highest palatability ratings while those from Holstein steers received the lowest palatability ratings.