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

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production Vol. 51; no. 8; pp. 2635 - 2640
• Main Authors: Passetti, Rodrigo Augusto Cortêz, do Prado, Ivanor Nunes, de Assis Fonseca de Macedo, Francisco, Teixeira, Alfredo Jorge Costa, Cardoso, Claudia Andréa Lima, de Arruda Santos, Gladston Rafael, Santos, Camilo Azevedo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-11-2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aging; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body Weight; Cattle; Chemical composition; Color; Fatty acids; Food Handling - methods; Food Quality; Life Sciences; Male; Meat; Organic chemistry; Polyunsaturated fatty acids; Red Meat - analysis; Shear forces; Short Communications; Slaughter; Thawing; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Weight reduction; Zoology; Zebu; Tenderness; Colour; Meat quality
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-019-01944-9

Reducing slaughter age can improve meat quality and reduce costs, while an ageing process can result in more standardized products. Thus, the objective of this paper was to measure the physicochemical characteristics of dry aged meat from younger Nellore bulls slaughtered at different body weights. Twenty-four
Longissimus thoracis
from young bulls (14 months of age) finished in a feedlot at body weights of 350, 400 and 450 kg were used. From each group (
N
 = 8), samples were divided into three portions for 0, 14 and 28 days of dry ageing. After the samples reached their dry aged period weight, pH and colour were measured. Next, water losses, shear force, the chemical composition and the fatty acids profile of the meat were measured. Reducing slaughter weight (350 kg) of young bulls did not affect meat tenderness but increased saturated fatty acids contents at day 1 of dry ageing. During the dry ageing process, drip loss increased, but thawing losses were reduced. Colour parameter was reduced by dry ageing and meat becomes darker, but meat tenderness was increased. Dry ageing increased the ash content. Dry ageing increased saturated fatty acid and reduced the monounsaturated and saturated fatty acid ratio (MUFA/SFA), but did not change the polyunsaturated fatty acids. Nellore young bulls (14 months) can be slaughtered with 400 or 450 kg without compromising physicochemical characteristics, while dry ageing improved meat tenderness but increased saturated fatty acids and changed meat colour.