Colour of subcutaneous adipose tissue and colour and tenderness of the longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle from Holstein–Friesian, Norwegian RedxHolstein–Friesian and JerseyxHolstein-Friesian cattle slaughtered at two live weights as bulls or steers

Abstract

Meat quality traits for Holstein–Friesian (HF), Norwegian Red × Holstein–Friesian (NR) and Jersey × Holstein–Friesian (JE) cattle reared to slaughter as two genders (bulls and steers) and 2 slaughter weights (570 kg and 640 kg) were compared. Adipose tissue from JE was more yellow (p<0.05) than HF or NR which were similar. There was no difference between breeds and no breed-related interactions for chemical composition, cook loss or instrumental tenderness of longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle (LT). When adjusted for differences in lipid concentration, LT from NR-sired animals tended to be less red (p=0.058) and LT from JE-sired animals had a lower hue (p<0.05). Substitution of NR or JE for HF sires in the dairy herd will not have important effects on LT characteristics in the production systems examined but the more yellow carcasses from JE-sired cattle may limit their suitability for markets with a carcass fat colour specification.

Impact of grazing dairy steers on winter rye (Secale cereale) versus winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) and effects on meat quality, fatty acid and amino acid profiles, and consumer acceptability of organic beef

“…The WBSF values for steaks in the current study are higher than reported by Bjorklund et al [ 6 ] from steers of similar genetics, indicating that the beef in the current study may be more tender based on the WR and WW grazing conditions. The results from the WBSF test are similar to results found by McNamee et al [ 28 ] who reported similar WBSF values for steaks from HOL, Norwegian Red x HOL, and Jersey x HOL steers. Findings in the current study are different than those found by Christensen et al [ 32 ], which found similar WBSF for steaks from Danish Red (similar to Viking Red) and HOL steers; however, the study also reported that steaks from Jersey steers had greater WBSF than steaks from HOL steers.…”

“…For the grade of intermuscular fat, the marbling scores of carcasses were similar ( P > 0.10) between HOL (1.9), MVH (2.1), and NJV (2.0) steers. Findings in McNamee et al [ 28 ] reported a lower marbling score for Jersey x HOL crossbred carcasses compared to HOL carcasses; however, the Normande and Viking Red genetics in the NJV crossbreed may have played a role in marbling score similarities between HOL and NJV breeds in the current study. Furthermore, the back fat thickness, ribeye area, yield grade, and percent of carcasses with a quality grade of select or greater were similar ( P > 0.10) for carcasses from HOL, MVH, and NJV steers.…”

“…The study concluded that producers may select alternative breeds of cattle depending on economic conditions. Therefore, based on the results of this study and other studies [ 27 , 28 , 30 ] breed of cattle (dairy, beef, or crossbred) may have influence that on carcass characteristics, as well as meat quality.…”

The Quality of Steer and Bull Meat Obtained by Crossing Holstein-Friesian Cows With Charolais Bulls

“…The values determined for the b* colour of the steer muscles were higher compared to the bull muscles. Trends similar to those found in the presented experiment are described in a number of publications, in which the research material was obtained from meat cattle animals (Dunne et al, 2004;McNamee et al, 2014;Moran et al, 2017). The castration of the animals had no effect on the amount of drip loss in this study, but this surgery had an impact on the content of the cooking loss, which was higher in the case of the bull meat, wherein a significant (p<0.05) difference was obtained only for one muscle -M_GM.…”

“…The obtained results may be due to the differences in the chemical composition of the meat (in this work the steer meat has a higher content of intramuscular fat [M_LL muscle] and a lower rate of connective tissue [M_GM muscle]). In the current literature on the impact of castration on the texture of meat authors have found lower values of shear force in steer meat than in bull meat, so results were similar to these received in this article (Filipcik et al, 2009;McNamee et al, 2014;Marti et al, 2011;Zhang et al, 2010). Similarities and differences in the sensory characteristics, chemical composition and physical measurements of the tested muscles obtained from bulls and steers (PCA): The relationship between the obtained results of sensory characteristics, chemical composition and physical measurements of the tested muscles and the main components is shown in Figure 2.…”