Influence of feeding various quantities of wet and dry distillers grains to finishing steers on carcass characteristics, meat quality, retail-case life of ground beef, and fatty acid profile of longissimus muscle1

Abstract

Two hundred forty Angus crossbred steers were used to determine the influence of feeding various quantities of wet and dry distillers grains to finishing steers on carcass characteristics, meat quality, retail-case life of ground beef, and fatty acid profile of LM. Three replications of 5 dietary treatments were randomly applied to 15 pens in each of 2 yr. A finishing diet containing dry-rolled corn, soybean meal, and alfalfa hay was fed as the control diet. Wet distillers grains with solubles (DGS) or dry DGS was added to the finishing diets at either 20.0 or 40.0% of the dietary DM to replace all soybean meal and part of the cracked corn in treatment diets. Carcasses of steers fed DGS had greater (P < 0.05) fat thickness (1.47 vs. 1.28 cm), greater (P < 0.05) USDA yield grades (3.23 vs. 2.94), and smaller (P < 0.05) percentage of yield grades 1 and 2 (41.1 vs. 60.4%) than carcasses of steers fed the control diet. Longissimus muscle from steers fed dry DGS had greater (P < 0.05) ultimate pH values (5.52 vs. 5.49) than LM from steers fed wet DGS. Ground beef from steers fed DGS had greater (P < 0.05) concentrations of α-tocopherol (1.77 vs. 1.43 μg/g) than ground beef from steers fed the control diet. Ground beef from steers fed 40% DGS had greater (P < 0.05) thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (2.84 vs. 2.13 mg/kg) on d 2 of retail display than ground beef from steers fed 20% DGS. Longissimus muscle of steers fed DGS had less (P < 0.05) C17:0 and more (P < 0.05) C18:0, C18:1t, C16:1c9, C18:2c9c12 (where t is trans and c is cis), and total PUFA than LM of steers fed the control diet. Feedlot steers fed DGS may need to be marketed earlier than normal to avoid excess external fat and carcasses with a greater numerical yield grade. These data suggest feeding DGS to finishing steers will have no adverse or beneficial effects on glycolytic variables (dark cutters), retail display life of ground beef, or meat tenderness. However, beef from cattle finished on diets containing DGS will likely have a greater proportion of PUFA and therefore may be more susceptible to oxidative rancidity.

Feeding wet distillers grains plus solubles contributes to sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane instability

“…Hence, distillers grains are used widely in feedlot diets at levels varying from 10% to 80% on a DM basis. Although many beef quality studies (Roeber et al 2005;Koger et al 2010;Mello et al 2012) on feeding distillers grains reported no differences in tenderness between control and treatments, a recent study (Senaratne 2012) revealed an intriguing phenomenon. Beef from steers fed 30% wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS) was more tender than beef from steers not fed WDGS, and this is not the first time that feeding distillers grains is reported to improve tenderness (Depenbusch et al 2009;Segers et al 2011).…”

High-sulfur in beef cattle diets: A review

“…While the effects of differing inclusion rates of DGS on aspects such as shelf life and tenderness of beef products have been evaluated (Depenbusch et al, 2009;Kroger et al, 2010), few reports on the effect of the S concentration of the diet on meat quality are available.…”

Evaluation of Selected Parameters of Quality and Nutritive Value of Meat of Fattened Bulls Fed Diet with Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) from Wheat or Maize as a Source of Protein

“…In a research by Koger et al [2010], the control group was receiving soybean meal in feed rations whereas the experimental groups were administered wet or dried distillers grains. A higher content of C17:0 acid and lower contents of C18:0, C18:1t, C16:1c9, and C 18:2 c9c12 acids and of the total PUFA were noted in the control group.…”

“…In turn, due to a high content of protein, the DDGS may be applied in fatteners feeding as a substitute for high-protein feeds, e.g. soybean or rapeseed meal [Robinson et al,, 2008;Koger et al, 2010;Łozicki et al, 2010;Szulc et al, 2010]. They may be administered directly to feed rations or used as a raw material in the production of concentrates.…”