The effects of feeding benzoic acid and/or active dry yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on fatty acid composition, sensory attributes, and retail shelf-life of beeflongissimus thoracis

Abstract

Fifty-nine Angus-cross steers (492 ± std. 36 kg) were arranged in a randomized complete block design and assigned to the following dietary treatments for the final 106 days of the finishing phase: no supplementation (CON), 0.5% benzoic acid (ACD), 3 g/steer/d active dry Saccharomyces cerevisiae (YST), or both [0.5% benzoic acid and 3 g/steer/d S. cerevisiae (AY)]. Steers were slaughtered at a commercial facility where longissimus thoracis (IMPS #107 Beef Rib) samples were retrieved and evaluated for fatty acid composition, sensory attributes, and shelf-life during a simulated retail display period. Data (N = 57) were analyzed using dietary treatment as a fixed effect, blocking weight at the beginning of the study as a random effect, and steer as the experimental unit. Muscle pH and proximate composition (moisture and intramuscular lipid) for longissimus samples were not different (P ≥ 0.39) among dietary treatments. Most fatty acid profile values and calculations were not different among dietary treatments (P ≥ 0.10); however, the n-6:n-3 ratio differed (P = 0.01), with ACD samples having lower n-6:n-3 compared with CON and YST samples while AY samples were intermediate and not different from other dietary treatments. The trained sensory panel did not detect differences among dietary treatments (P ≥ 0.23) for juiciness, beef flavor intensity, or off-flavor intensity; however, they did score AY samples as chewier than ACD samples with CON and YST samples intermediate and not different from other dietary treatments. Yet, tenderness was not different when scored by trained panelists (P = 0.10) or measured instrumentally (P = 0.21). Total color change tended to differ (P = 0.09) during the 12-d simulated retail display period with AY samples experiencing less color change compared with YST samples, while CON and ACD samples were intermediate and not different from other dietary treatments. Lipid oxidation (as measured with TBARS) tended to differ (P = 0.08) following the 12-d simulated retail display period with ACD and AY samples experiencing lower levels of oxidation compared with CON, while YST samples were intermediate and not different from other dietary treatments. Overall, these results suggest there were no negative impacts on meat quality when finishing steers were supplemented with either benzoic acid or S. cerevisiae, and there may even be advantages for fatty acid composition and oxidative stability when steers were supplemented with benzoic acid.

The Use of Additives to Prevent Urolithiasis in Lambs Fed Diets with a High Proportion of Concentrate

“…For example, Ferreira et al [24] did not observe differences in sheep-fed ACL performance compared with the control group. Likewise, studies with crossbred steers fed a high-grain diet and an inclusion of 0.5% BZA compared with a yeast (S. cerevisiae) treatment [25], or in order to replace monensin and tylosin [26], did not observe differences in animal performance. However, pigs supplemented with 0.5% BZA in the diet showed higher DMI and better performance when compared with the control group, which can be due to changes in the population of gastric bacteria, such as lactic acid bacteria and E. coli [27].…”

Enrichment of ruminant meats with health enhancing fatty acids and antioxidants: feed-based effects on nutritional value and human health aspects – invited review

“…Similarly, supplementation of polyphenolic fruit by-products such as grape pomace in calves' (Ianni et al, 2019) and steers' (Tayengwa et al, 2020) on high-grain diets increased the antioxidant capacity and oxidative stability of meat. Supplementing a blend of essential oils (Rivaroli et al, 2016;Ornaghi et al, 2020) and benzoic acid (Williams et al, 2022) slightly improved lipid stability without affecting colour shelf-life.…”