An audit of retail beef loin steak tenderness conducted in eight U.S. cities.

Abstract

An audit of supermarkets in eight U.S. cities was conducted to characterize retail beef loin steaks with respect to grade, postfabrication aging, and tenderness and to provide an interim measure of progress in industry efforts to improve retail beef tenderness. Top sirloin steaks (n = 819) and strip loin steaks (n = 827 paired steaks) were purchased at retail markets in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Seattle and shipped to Colorado State University for measurement of shear force (both cut types) and evaluation by a trained sensory panel (strip loins only). Approximately 80% of the steaks originated from beef plants in Kansas, Texas, Nebraska, and Colorado. Postfabrication aging periods ranged from 2 to 87 d (mean = 20.8 d) for top sirloin steaks and from 2 to 91 d (mean = 19.2 d) for strip loin steaks, although most top sirloin (85%) and strip loin (91%) steaks were available for purchase 7 to 35 d after fabrication. The mix of quality grades was similar for both cuts: 60% Select, 31% "commodity" Choice, 6 to 7% "Certified" Choice, and 2 to 3% Prime. Shear force averaged 3.46 kg (SD = .74) for top sirloins and 3.05 kg (SD = .95) for strip loins; 75% of both steak types had shear force values between 2 and 4 kg. Postfabrication periods shorter than 7 d were associated with reduced (P < .05) tenderness, especially for top sirloin steaks. Higher quality grades were associated with greater (P < .05) tenderness (Prime > Choice > Select) for both cuts. Based on panel tenderness ratings, the approximate odds of obtaining a "slightly tough" or tougher strip loin steak at a retail supermarket were: 0 for Prime, 1 in 10 for "Certified" Choice, 1 in 5 for "commodity" Choice, and 1 in 4 for Select. Audit results suggest that tenderness characteristics of loin steaks have not changed materially since the National Beef Tenderness Survey was conducted in 1991 and that two primary focal points of the beef industry's efforts to improve tenderness should be 1) to prevent short-aged (< 7 d postfabrication) product from reaching consumers and 2) to identify methods for enhancing tenderness of Select and "commodity" Choice beef.

Carcass traits and M. longissimus lumborum palatability attributes of calf- and yearling-finished steers1

“…The current probabilities for steaks from YF steers showed a greater risk of being tough than results of Klopfenstein et al (1995) who reported 19-mo-old cattle to have a 0.18% risk of being tough. However, the risk of steaks from YF steers being tough remains consistent with the 10, 20, and 25% for upper two-thirds Choice, low Choice, and Select steaks, respectively, reported by George et al (1999).…”

Quantifying the aging response and nutrient composition for muscles of the beef round

“…In the same study, Smith et al (1978) , 1997). Actual muscle aging time in the industry can vary greatly however, as evidenced by George et al (1999), who reported postmortem aging periods for beef loin steaks ranging from 2 to 91 days in eight U.S. cities, with the average being 20 days. The availability of steaks at a retail outlet in less than seven days of postmortem aging could potentially increase the chance of a consumer purchasing a cut with less than desirable tenderness .…”

International perspective: characterisation of United States Department of Agriculture and Meat Standards Australia systems for assessing beef quality

“…Huffhines et al (1992aHuffhines et al ( , 1992b reported that average choice > low choice > upper half select = lower half select > upper half standard (P < 0.05) in tenderness (measured by shear force), overall palatability and percentage 'desirable or higher' in overall eating satisfaction; percentages 'desirable or higher' for average choice, low choice, upper half select, lower half select and upper half standard were 58, 40, 35, 32 and 12%, respectively. George et al (1999) studied the tenderness of beef available at supermarkets throughout the USA and reported that: (i) the odds of having a tough steak from carcasses of prime, upper two-thirds choice, lower one-third choice and select (P < 0.05) were 0 (none), 1 in 19 (5.3%), 1 in 9 (11.2%) and 1 in 6 (17.8%) for top loin steaks, respectively and 0 (none), 1 in 6 (18.0%), 1 in 5 (20.2%) and 1 in 4 (28.3%) for top sirloin steaks, respectively; and (ii) as marbling score and USDA quality grade increased, sensory panel ratings for flavour, juiciness, freedom from connective tissue, myofibrillar tenderness, overall tenderness and overall palatability increased (P < 0.05).…”

“…Smith (2005) composited data from the studies of Smith et al (1980Smith et al ( , 1983Smith et al ( , 1984Smith et al ( , 1987, Branson et al (1984Branson et al ( , 1986, Savell et al (1987), Jones and Tatum (1991a, 1991b, Huffhines et al (1992aHuffhines et al ( , 1992bHuffhines et al ( , 1993 and George et al (1999) and concluded that the odds of having an unpleasant eating experience are 1 in 33 (3%) if a middle-meat steak comes from a prime carcass, as compared with 1 in 10 (10%), 1 in 6 (16%), 1 in 4 (27%) or 1 in 2 (50%) if a middle-meat steak comes from a carcass of upper two-thirds choice, lower one-third choice, select or standard grades, respectively. Platter et al (2003b) reported that: (i) marbling score displayed a significant relationship to acceptance of steaks by consumers; and (ii) the shape of the predicted probability curve for steak acceptance was approximately linear over the entire range of marbling scores (TR 67 to SA 97 ), suggesting that the likelihood of consumer acceptance of steaks increases~10% for each full marbling score increase between SL and SA.…”

“…Of factors considered of primary importance in determining tenderness and overall palatability of cooked beef in the MSA grading system, there is ample US research-study support for use of marbling (Smith et al 1969(Smith et al , 2007Savell et al 1987Savell et al , 1989George et al 1999;Wyle 2000;Platter et al 2003bPlatter et al , 2005Gruber et al 2006), maturity (Berry et al 1974a(Berry et al , 1974bSmith et al 1982Smith et al , 1988Smith et al , 2008Hilton et al 1998), amount of B. indicus genetics (McKeith et al 1985a(McKeith et al , 1985bSherbeck et al 1995Sherbeck et al , 1996O'Connor et al 1997), sex (Choat et al 2006;Tatum et al 2007), tenderstretch carcass suspension (Smith et al , 1979(Smith et al , 2007Orts et al 1971;Hostetler et al 1975), ultimate pH (Smulders et al 1990;Tatum 1991a, 1994;Eilers et al 1996;Wulf et al 1997), meat colour (Jeremiah et al 1972;Wulf et al 1997;Cannell et al 2000;Wyle et al 2003;Vote et al 2003), fat colour (Hilton et al 1998;Wyle et al 1998Wyle et al , 2003Wyle 2000;Vote et al 2003) and subcu...…”