Effect of ageing on the physicochemical properties of musculus longissimus lumborum of young bulls of five breeds

Abstract

SummaryRecent years have seen increasing interest in the conservation and use of native breeds of livestock raised in traditional farming systems. The experience of many European countries shows that promotion of raw materials and products derived from these breeds through a labelling system has a beneficial effect on the sustainable development of rural areas, contributes to preservation of the cultural heritage of the countryside, and increases the population of the breeds. As yet no beef produced in Poland has been included on the European list of traditional and regional products. 5 N and 59.1 N). On the last, 14 th day of ageing, the instrumental WBSF shear force for the breeds evaluated was definitely more homogeneous and did not differ significantly (shear force in the range of 56.3-65.7 N; P > 0.05). Compared to the muscle of native breeds, that of the Polish Holstein-Friesians showed significantly lower haem pigments (on average 35 ppm less; P < 0.01) and a lower proportion of redness (a*) (P < 0.01) on the 2 nd and 7 th days post mortem. The MLL muscle of young bulls of the Polish Red breed had the lowest (P < 0.01) percentage content of yellowness (b*) during the whole ageing period. Significantly (P < 0.01) lower oxidative stability (higher TBARS value) was found in the meat from young bulls of the Polish Holstein-Friesian breed (on the 2 nd and 7 th days post mortem) and the White-Backed breed (on the 14 th day) compared to all other breeds analysed. In general, the ageing time had a positive influence on the muscle quality, as the determinants of the visual and sensory attractiveness of the meat, which are also important in the meat industry, remained stable (pH), improved (colour and water-holding capacity G-H) or became more similar among the breeds (tenderness assessed on the basis of shear force, cooking loss).

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

“…The significant decrease in WBSF during ageing has already been well-documented and was also reported by Węglarz ( 2010 ), who found that between the 7th and 14th day of ageing, WBSF decreased from 6.64 (65.12 N) to 3.77 kG/cm 2 (36.97 N) in LL muscle obtained from Polish Holstein-Friesian bulls fattened semi-intensively to 550 kg of final body weight. On the other hand, the results of the present study, which show an insignificant decrease in WBSF for O treatment, resemble those reported by Domaradzki et al ( 2017 ), who reported that WBSF values for LL originating from 18-month-old Polish Holstein-Friesian bulls were 69.3 N and 65.3 N after 7-days and 14-days ageing, respectively.…”

“…In all of these studies, ageing significantly affected a* and b* values, which increased in time, which was also noted in this study. Comparing the results obtained for similar ageing times, Domaradzki et al ( 2017 ) noted a decrease in L*, and no changes in a* and b* values in beef from Polish Holstein-Friesian bulls between the 7th and 14th day of ageing. These results, except for L*, resemble those obtained in the present study for control treatment.…”

“…However, in the present study, higher values of yellowness (regardless of dietary treatment and ageing time) were reported compared with earlier studies (6.1–11.3) (Muchenje et al 2009 ) and were lower than those shown by Canto et al ( 2015 ) (27.1–28.6). Although there are many reports in which the effect of ageing on beef colour was discussed, different ageing times have been studied, such as 24 h, 2-days, 3-days and 7-days (Li et al 2011 ), 48 h, 7-days and 14-days (Domaradzki et al 2017 ) or 3-days, 7-days and 14-days (Beriain et al 2009 ). In all of these studies, ageing significantly affected a* and b* values, which increased in time, which was also noted in this study.…”

“…Since with a longer ageing time, a higher cost must be borne by the beef producer, it would be beneficial to use 9-day instead of 14-day ageing in the production of high quality culinary beef, also from dairy breeds. There are reports in which the effect of ageing up to the 14th day was investigated, but the sampling days ranged from the 1st, 2nd or 3rd to 7th or 14th day of ageing (Beriain et al 2009 ; Domaradzki et al 2017 ; Li et al 2011 ), which affected the results of statistical analyses, indicating the effect of ageing on meat quality. Therefore, it was difficult to draw conclusions about the effect of ageing time between the 9th and 14th day of ageing based on previous studies.…”