Effect of the genetic group, production system and sex on the meat quality and sensory traits of beef from crossbred animals

Abstract

The crossbreeding of two or more breeds from the Bos taurus and Bos indicus species is an alternative for obtaining high-quality meat from animals adapted to tropical climates. Quality and sensory attributes of beef, mainly its tenderness and flavour, are very important with regard to the consumer's point of view. This study aimed to evaluate the physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of crossbred young bulls and heifers, the offspring of Angus or Limousin bulls and 1/2 Angus + 1/2 Nellore or 1/2 Simental + 1/2 Nellore cows that were finished on feedlot or pasture. Meat quality traits (pH, colour, cooking loss, water holding capacity and shear force) and sensory parameters (characteristic beef aroma/flavour intensity, strange aroma/flavour intensity, tenderness and juiciness descriptive attributes, flavour, texture (tenderness) and overall acceptance) were evaluated. The genetic group had an effect on the beef pH, but it was not as relevant as the effect of the combination between the production system and the sex or genetic group, which affected many of the quality and sensory traits.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors Affecting the Color of Fresh Beef Meat—Comprehensive Review

“…Similarly, lower carcass fat deposition in bulls resulted in lower L* and C* values when compared to cows' carcasses [20,68]. It was also found that bulls' meat reached lower ante-mortem glycogen levels and higher pH values due to more aggressive behavior compared to immunocastrated animals, steers, and heifers [59,69]. It was determined that steers were 47% more likely to have DFD meat than heifers due to lower glycogen pre-mortem levels exacerbated by mounting [70].…”

“…It was also reported that even if heifers were more susceptible to pre-mortem stress, this was not related to pH decline in meat; however, higher meat pH and lower color scores were promoted due to agonistic bull behavior [71]. A different study reported that male cattle showed more stressed behavior, resulting in lower L*, a*, and b* meat values for feedlot-finished bulls compared to heifers in the same production system [69]. It was also stated that steers produced meat with significantly higher L*, a*, and b* values than bulls and cows; however, between the last two, cows showed higher L* and similar a* and b* values than bulls [72].…”

Meta-analysis of carcass and meat characteristics of young or super young steers and of different sexual conditions finished in confinement

“…Because the fat covering the carcasses is a determining factor for the protection and quality of the meat, which requires a minimum degree to guarantee a correct transformation of the muscle into meat during the maturation process (Baldassini et al, 2016) . The degree of finishing of the carcasses, in addition to being affected by sexual condition (Venkata Reddy et al, 2015) and the age of the animal (Bures & Barton, 2012), it is also affected by breed (He et al, 2020), period and finishing weight (Asimwe et al, 2015), dietary energy level (Nassu et al, 2017) and fetal programming (Mohrhauser et al, 2015). Although the thickness of subcutaneous fat in uncastrated steers was lower than that of castrated ones, it met the minimum requirement of 3 mm.…”

Physicochemical characteristics of dry aged beef from younger Nellore bulls slaughtered at different body weights

“…A pH higher than 6.0 is a characteristic of DFD meat (Bernardes et al 2007). According to Nassu et al (2017), changes on meat colour are related to differences in pH between male and female Nellore crossbreds. However, in our study, the pH did not affect the colour of meat from animals slaughtered at the body weights of 350 to 450 kg in each dry aged period evaluated.…”