Effects of Slaughter Age of Holstein Friesian Bulls on Meat Quality: Chemical Composition, Textural Characteristics, Sensory Attributes and Fatty Acid Profile

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of slaughter age (young vs. old), muscle type (Longissimus dorsi (LD), Gluteus medius (GM)) and fat deposits (kidney knob and channel fat, subcutaneous fat, intramuscular fat) on chemical, organoleptic, textural characteristics and fatty acid composition of Holstein Friesian bull meat. For this purpose, the carcasses of 26 Holstein Friesian bulls that had been fattened on the same private farm were assigned to two experimental groups based on their age at slaughter: a young group (YG) (average age: 17.0 ± 1.0 months old) and an old group (OG) (average age: 22.0 ± 1.0 months old). The percentage of crude protein, panel tenderness score, polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and saturated fatty acid (SFA) content, the PUFA/SFA ratio and the hypocholesterolemic fatty acid (DFA)/hypercholesterolemic fatty acid (OFA) ratio of the bull carcasses decreased significantly with increasing slaughter age. By contrast, the OFA content of the carcasses significantly increased (p < 0.05) with increasing slaughter age. Advanced slaughter age resulted in lower panel tenderness scores. Additionally, the meat of the bulls in the OG was considered to be less healthy because of the less desirable fatty acid composition and nutritional indices, such as the PUFA/SFA and hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratios, compared to the meat from the bulls in the YG. Furthermore, the intramuscular fat and internal fat contained high percentages of PUFA and SFA and high PUFA/SFA and hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratios. Interestingly, the percentage of OFA content in the internal and intramuscular fat tissues decreased with increasing slaughter age. In conclusion, this study provided evidence that slaughter age and muscle and fat type are essential sources of variations in the textural characteristics, sensory panel attributes and fatty acid profile of meat from Holstein Friesian bulls.

Relationship between the chemical composition, physical, technological, and sensory properties of beef and the colour of muscle tissue

“…These results are consistent with data from studies A. Diler et al (2022). The researchers also found that the shade of muscle tissue in cattle is not a source of variability in their chemical composition.…”

Modeling of Ethiopian Beef Meat Marbling Score Using Image Processing for Rapid Meat Grading

“…According to previous findings, surface visual traits (marbling) are significantly influenced by breeding methods [ 48 ]. The examined breeds, Boran, Senga, and Sheko, have very little marbling (sirloin: 4.56 ± 1.60, chuck: 3.82 ± 1.06, sirloin: 3.03 ± 0.68, chuck: 2.73 ± 0.90, and sirloin: 2.88 ± 1.42, chuck: 2.92 ± 1.67), and there were no differences in marbling means ( p < 0.01) between the various cattle types.…”

Relationship between Beef Quality and Bull Breed

“…The crude fat content positively influences the juiciness of the meat as intramuscular fat, but not as cover fat around the meat [ 40 , 41 ]. Additionally, Diler et al [ 42 ] reported that muscle and fat type are essential sources of variations in the textural characteristics, sensory panel attributes, and fatty acid profile of meat from Holstein-Friesian bulls. The highest collagen content was found in PHF—in culinary beef production, this indicator should be as low as possible due to its negative effect on meat tenderness [ 43 ].…”