Carcass characteristics, non-carcass components and meat quality of Nellore cattle in a feedlot and fed with different corn hybrids

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate carcass characteristics, non-carcass components and meat quality of Nellore cattle in feedlot and fed with different corn hybrids (flint, semi-flint and semi-dent) in the diet. Twenty-seven animals averaging 350 ± 24 kg of body weight and 24 months of age were used. The animals were distributed in a completely randomized design with three treatments (T), where, T1-diet with flint corn (TDFC), T2-diet with semi-flint corn (TDSFC) and T3-diet with semi-dent corn (TDSDC), with 9 replicates per treatment. The animals were fed ad libitum twice daily (at 8:00 am and 4:00pm) with isocaloric and isonitrogenous diet, with 30% of sugar cane bagasse and 70% concentrate (88% maize, 8% soybean meal, 3% mineral and vitamin supplement and 1% urea) for 95 days (14 days of adaptation and 3 experimental periods of 27 days each). The animals were weighed at the beginning of the experiment and after each period of 27 days, always in a fasting period of 16 hours. At the end of the experiment, the animals were slaughtered in commercial slaughterhouse, measuring non-carcass components (weight of blood, feet, hide, head, tail, organs, fat removed for cleaning), gastrointestinal tract (pharynx, esophagus, stomach and intestines) and carcass characteristics (hot carcass, cold carcass yield, carcass length, leg length, thigh thickness, perimeter of leg, arm length, arm thickness, arm perimeter, front weight, rear weight and conformation). Sample was collected from HH joint for evaluation of the percentage of bone, muscle and fat and subsequent use of the Longissimus dorsi muscle for evaluation of fat cover thickness, marbling, Longissimus muscle área (LMA), degree of finish, water loss, pH, beef color, fat color and proximate analysis of meat. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between treatments for the evaluated parameters for carcass characteristics and non-carcass components. For the parameters of meat quality, there was significant difference (P<0.05) between treatments only in pH after 24 hours of slaughter. It is concluded that the use of different corn hybrids in the concentrated diet in feedlot cattle does not influence the carcass characteristics, noncarcass characteristics and meat quality.

Carcass characteristics and meat evaluation of Nelore cattle subjected to different antioxidant treatments

“…Therefore, carcass must provide maximum amount of muscle, minimum of bone, and an amount of fat that varies depending on consumer preference. The proximate composition of the beef was similar between treatments and with values similar to those obtained by Lawler et al (2004), Freitas et al (2008), Razook et al (2002), Rubiano et al (2009), Souza et al (2009), and Sestari et al (2012, when working with Nelore cattle. The exception is ether extract content, which was lower, possibly due to the lower energy density of the diets used in this study compared with the aforementioned authors, who aimed at higher weight gain.…”

“…The darker meat and lower brightness, lower intensities of red, and yellow meats typically account for meats with high final pH (Muchenje et al, 2009) as observed in this study (6.31). High pH values were also obtained by Sestari et al (2012) in Nelore cattle and Heinemann et al (2003) in 60% of Nelore and Nelore × Limousin animals.…”

“…Therefore, the lack of treatment effect on the chemical composition may be due to the similar energy intake in all the treatments associated with the physiological phase of the animal with similar energy requirements. According to Sestari et al (2012), in general, the content of ash and crude protein of Longissimus dorsi has low variation for change in the animal diet, whereas fat (ether extract) shows greater variation (Williams et al, 1983).…”

Carcass traits and meat quality of Brangus × Zebu steers in grazing systems receiving supplementation

“…It is known that the consumer market is dynamic and constantly changing, and that demand for meat quality is increasing. As a result, Brazilian beef cattle farms have been specializing in improving management, reducing costs and increasing production efficiency (Sestari et al, 2012).…”