Correlations and Prediction Equations for Fatty Acids and Sensory Characteristics of Beef Longissimus Rib Steaks From Forage‐fed Cattle and Retail Usda Choice and Select Rib Steaks

Abstract

Rib steaks (n = 52) from forage‐fed cattle and United States Department of Agriculture Choice and Select rib steaks obtained from area supermarkets were utilized to determine correlations between fatty acids and sensory characteristics, to develop prediction models for sensory characteristics, and to determine correlations among fatty acids. The beef/brothy and beef fat sensory characteristics were positively correlated (P < 0.05) with 16:0, 16:1cis‐9 and 18:1, and negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with 15:0, α‐18:3, 20:4, 20:5, 22:5 and 22:6. The grassy sensory characteristic was positively correlated (P < 0.05) with 15:0, 16:1trans‐9, 18:0, 18:2cis‐9,trans‐11 (conjugated linoleic acid [CLA]), α‐18:3, 20:5, 22:5 and 22:6. Regression utilizing stepwise selection to develop prediction equations for sensory characteristics indicated that the beef/brothy sensory characteristic was best predicted (P < 0.05) by the single fatty acid 20:5, with this fatty acid explaining 40% of the variation. CLA and α‐18:3 were utilized in the model that best predicted (P < 0.05) milky/oily flavor, with these two fatty acids explaining 31% of the variation. These results indicate that CLA and the 20‐ and 22‐carbon polyunsaturates have large roles in influencing flavor, causing increases in grassy and milky/oily flavor or decreasing beef/brothy flavor. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS With the increase in concentrate feed costs, it has become more important to finish cattle on alternate feedstuffs, particularly forage. However, shifting cattle from concentrate to forage finishing diets may impart different sensory attributes of the beef produced. Therefore, it would be advantageous to be able to predict palatability characteristics such as beef flavor in order to correctly segregate beef into markets that seek and accept different sensory attributes. Results from this study would allow beef to be identified from its fatty acid profile as forage finished or grain finished in sensory characteristics and therefore targeted to the appropriate markets. Furthermore, with these results, it may be possible to produce and correctly classify beef from forage‐finished diets that may exhibit affinities to deposition of fatty acids more closely associated with grain‐finished beef, and therefore fit into those markets.

Evaluation of Fatty Acid Profile of Wagyu Beef by ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy

“…SFA became smaller in the order of intramuscular, intermuscular and subcutaneous fats, and MUFA content became larger in the same order. This tendency agreed with the results of earlier investigations which indicated that bovine tissues near the body surface would have a higher percentage of MUFA than internal tissue (Waldman et al 1968;Westerling and Hedrick 1979;Metlon et al 1982;Ozutsumi et al 1983;Sturdivant et al 1992;Baublits et al 2009). Besides, the amount of oleic acid (18:1) and MUFA in beef was associated with the favorable palatability attributes, and fat softness of beef Oleic acid was also recognized to reduce low-density lipoprotein or LDL without affecting high-density lipoprotein or HDL, and thus, oleic acid (Grundy and Denke 1990;Lagrost 1992;Fujiwara et al 2005).…”

“…Besides, the amount of oleic acid (18:1) and MUFA in beef was associated with the favorable palatability attributes, and fat softness of beef Oleic acid was also recognized to reduce low-density lipoprotein or LDL without affecting high-density lipoprotein or HDL, and thus, oleic acid (Grundy and Denke 1990;Lagrost 1992;Fujiwara et al 2005). Meanwhile, stearic acid correlated negatively with beef flavor (Mandell et al 1998;Baublits et al 2009), and SFA has been considered to raise cholesterol levels and may even increase the risk of heart disease. As shown in Table 1, the subcutaneous adipose tissue of Japanese Black Wagyu could provide a slightly higher content of 18:1 (47.6%), a lower content of 18:0 (6.5%), and a higher ratio of MUFA to SFA (1.665) than those values of American and Australian cattle, which were 47.3%, 7.6%, and 1.59, respectively (Huerta-Leidenz et al 1993;Smith et al 1998;Chung et al 2006).…”

Fatty acid, volatile and sensory characteristics of beef as affected by grass silage or pasture in the bovine diet

“…In many cases the PUFA:SFA ratio is higher in beef from grass based systems than from concentrate based systems (Baublits et al, 2009). In the present study, the higher PUFA:SFA ratio in the GSPC bulls compared to the C bulls was mainly because of the lower SFA concentration of GSPC bulls which in turn could be related to the inclusion of grazed grass prior to the finishing period.…”

“…Overall it appears that the sensory scores were mainly influenced by the total IMF content as the relationships between sensory scores and total IMF were stronger and more consistent than the relationships between sensory scores and individual fatty acids. In other studies PUFA were associated with a decrease in desirable flavour (such as beefy flavour) and an increase in undesirable flavour (such as grassy and milky-oily) characteristics of beef (Baublits et al, 2006(Baublits et al, , 2009. In the present study, the positive correlations between C20:5n-3 and abnormal flavour (r = 0.28, P < 0.05), between C18:3n-3 and PUFA/SFA ratio and abnormal flavour (although not significant), and the negative correlations between C20:5n-3 and overall liking (r = -0.34, P < 0.05) and between PUFA/SFA ratio and overall liking (r = -0.36, P < 0.01) support this observation.…”

“…However, feeding grazed grass alone can lead to a reduction in intramuscular fat (IMF) content to a level that has a negative impact on consumer liking (juiciness, tenderness and flavour scores) of the beef (Hunt et al, 2016). In addition, a decrease in IMF content, combined with increased PUFA, can lead to changes in the flavour desirability of the beef since differences in fatty acid composition affect the volatile compounds produced in beef on cooking (Baublits et al, 2009;Wood et al, 2004). This problem is likely to be exacerbated in beef from male animals (bulls), which is inherently leaner than that of females or castrated males (steers).…”