SUMMARYThe tenderness of meat removed from the carcass in a pre‐rigor condition is highly dependent on the extent of the cold shortening which occurs after excision. The relationship between shortening and tenderness is complex. A decrease of up to 20% of the initial excised length does not exert a significant effect, hut toughness increases rapidly with further shortening beyond this point, reaching a peak of several times its original value (in terms of shear force required) at a shortening of about 40%. With yet further shortening, the meat becomes progressively more tender until, at about 55‐60% shortening, it is cleaved about as easily as meat in which less than 20% shortening has occurred.The presence of intact skeletal attachments does not necessarily overcome the development of shortening‐induced toughness. It is shown that a pre‐rigor muscle which is absolutely fixed in over‐all length is still capable of appreciable shortening in one zone, with compensating lengthening elsewhere, if the application of cold is uneven along its surface.

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