The Effect of Carcass Conformation Class (Europ System) on the Slaughter Quality of Young Crossbred Beef Bulls and Holstein-Friesians / Porównanie wartości rzeźnej buhajków mieszańców mięsnych i holsztyno-fryzów w zależności od klasy uformowania w systemie EUROP

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of genotype and carcass conformation class on the slaughter quality of 200 young bulls, including 108 crossbred beef bulls and 92 Holstein- Friesians (HF), aged 21-22 months, selected in the lairage. The lean meat content was estimated and body measurements were taken before slaughter. After slaughter, the carcasses were graded according to the EUROP system, and carcass quality parameters were determined. Intramuscular fat was extracted from samples of m. longissimus dorsi, and the fatty acid profile of extracted fat was determined by gas chromatography. 61.11% carcasses of crossbred beef bulls were graded in the conformation class R, and 56.53% carcasses of Holstein-Friesians were classified as O. The majority of carcasses belonged to fat class 2, which was not consistent with intramuscular fat content. Within the same conformation classes, crossbred beef bulls were characterized by higher slaughter quality than Holstein-Friesian bulls. Meat from hybrid beef bulls had a higher (by 0.42% on average) content of fat with a more desirable composition. Since the population size of beef cattle will probably not increase in the nearest future, efforts should be continued to optimize the production of high-quality beef from dairy cattle herds.

Environmental Factors and Genetic Parameters of Beef Traits in Fleckvieh Cattle Using Field and Station Testing

“…Bulls in method F only show higher values in relation to the Grade 2 fatness. Nearly identical classification ratings for the degree of fatness are also given by other authors [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Genetic and Environmental Determinants of Beef Quality—A Review

“…The n-6/n-3 ratio is considered as a risk factor in coronary heart disease and cancer disease when it is higher than 4 (49). This indicator was significantly lower in the LCS (based on lucerne silage and legume-cereal mixture silage) bulls and well below the recommended maximum (34). A number of reports showed variations in beef cattle performance and carcass characteristics under similar production conditions due to breed effects in crossbreeding experiments (50)(51)(52)(53).…”

“…Barton et al (32) revealed that supplementation of sunflower seed increased the proportions of C18:2 n-6 and C18:2 cis-9 trans-11 and PUFA/SFA ratio and decreased the fatty acid atherogenicity in meat lipids. Pasture-finished cattle produce beef with a greater concentration of PUFA n-3 fatty acids than concentrate-fed cattle (33)(34)(35).…”

Influence of ageing on longissimus lumborum quality from Holstein-Friesian young bulls fed different diets

“…The carcasses also showed similar ( P > 0.05) dressing percentage (53.2 ± 0.4, 53.8 ± 0.7 and 53.4 ± 0.6% for control, O and OS treatment, respectively). The dressing percentages of the carcasses were in the range of variation considered adequate (from 52.1 to 56.4%) for Holstein-Friesian bulls at similar ages (Nogalski et al 2013, 2014; Węglarz 2011). The results of this study are in agreement with the findings of de Zawadzki et al (2017), who also reported a lack of differences in animal performance between bulls fed control and plant extract (mate, up to 1.5%) supplemented diets.…”