What Makes Quality Tasty Meat

1. What Makes Quality Tasty Meat Dr. Jan R. Busboom Department of Animal SciencesWashington State University, Pullman

2. Outline: • Defining Quality Again • Quality (Beef value) CP’s - Genetics - Nutrition - Management - Post harvest treatments

3. Safe Recommendations • Animal • Safe • Humanely produced • High quality and Palatable • Nutritious

4. Humanely Produced: • Confinement/mud? • Gentle handling

6. Quality Grades • Indication of eating quality or palatability

7. Quality Grades • Prime • Choice • Select • Standard • Commercial • Utility • Cutter • Canner

8. Quality Grade Factors • Maturity • Marbling

9. Yield Grade Factors • Hot carcass wt. • Ribeye area • Fat thickness • %Kidney, Pelvic and Heart Fat (KPH)

11. Quality/Palatability • We have too much tough beef (> 20%) • Despite pricing grids we now have more YG4 and YG 5 than in 1995 and 2000.

12. Palatability: Genetics • Differences between breeds • Bos indicus vs. Bos taurus • (Koch et al., 1976; Wheeler et al., 1996)

13. Palatability: Genetics • Differences among sires within breeds are greater than differences among breeds • Wulf et al., 1996; O’Conner et al., 1997

14. Palatability: Management • Bulls generally produce less tender beef • Testosterone • Collagen • Cuts age more slowly

15. Palatability: Management • Anabolic agents • Days on feed • Health status • Age

16. Palatability: Management • Marbling deposition occurs slowly throughout growing and finishing phase. • Ideal is to feed at a rate that meets muscle, bone and marbling growth requirements but does not cause excessive fattening

17. Palatability: Management • Biological type • Late maturing rapid growing breeds must be fed hard and early to get marbling. • “If heifer contemporaries reach puberty on backgrounding diet probably no harm to gradability of steers.” Bruns, Pritchard and Boggs, 2005 (SDSU). • Holsteins

18. Palatability: Management • Many studies indicate about 100 days on feed are required for maximum tenderness

19. Palatability: Management • Health status • Time in and money spent in sick pen is directly correlated to toughness and poor grade

20. Palatability: Management • Intramuscular injections

21. Palatability: Management • Intramuscular injections

22. Palatability: Management • Animals over 30 months of age have greater connective tissue toughness

23. Preharvest Recommendations • Avoid chronically sick cattle • Eliminate intramuscular injections • Slaughter prior to 30 months of age • Positive growth during backgrounding and rapid growth prior to slaughter

24. CP2:Pre-harvest management • Temperament and/or ante-mortem stress

25. Post-harvest treatment • Proper chilling rate • Electrical Stimulation • Aging • Freezing and then aging

27. Economically important traits: • Reproductive traits • 1. No. of pigs born alive : • a. ovulation rate • b. embryonic & fetal survival • c. dystocia • 2. 21-day litter wt.- function of: • a. no. of pigs born alive • b. neonatal survival • c. sow lactation & baby pig growth

28. 3. heritability is low: 10-20% in swine • 4. heterosis in response to cross-breeding is high • 5. white breeds are best for sow productivity traits: • a.Yorkshire • b. Landrace • c. Chester White • d. Large White from Europe

29. B. Growth Performance Traits • 1. A.D.G. • boars for breeding should gain: • a. ~2.0-2.5 lb/day • b. reach 230 lb at < 150 days of age • 2. F.E. = lb. of feed/lb. of gain or feed to gain ratio • average of individuals in the herd is ~2.5-3.0

30. Symbol III • Live weight feed efficiency of 2.4 • Fat free lean gain of .95 lbs/day • (about 2.4 Live ADG • Marketed at 156 days of age • Weighing 270 lbs.

31. 3. heritability is moderate • a. A.D.G. = 30% • b. F.E. = 25% • 4. heterosis in response to cross-breeding is moderate • 5. colored breeds are best for growth performance - “boar” breeds or terminal sires • a. A.D.G.- Duroc is best • b. F.E. - Hampshire is best, Duroc is good

32. C. Carcass traits • 1. backfat thickness over the 10th rib • a. should be <1 inch or 2.5 cm at slaughter wt • b. measured by backfat probe or ultrasound • 2. loin-eye area (L.E.A.) • a. should be >5 inches • b. measured by ultrasound • 3. % lean • a. best measure of carcass quality • b. requires slaughter

33. Symbol III Hot carcass wt of 205 lbs.• LMA of 6.5 (7.1) sq. in.• Belly thickness of 1.0 inches• 10th rib backfat of 0.7 (0.6) inch• Fat-Free Lean Index is 53.0 (54.7)

34. 4. Heritability is high • a. backfat thickness • live animal = 40% • carcass = 50% • b. L.E.A. = 50% • c. % lean = 45% • 5. heterosis in response to cross-breeding is low • 6. colored breeds are best for carcass traits - • a. Hampshire is best • b. Poland China is strong in L.E.A.

35. 6. colored breeds are best for carcass traits - • a. Hampshire is best • b. Poland China is strong in L.E.A.

36. D. Soundness traits • 1. structural soundness of feet & legs • a. support boar during breeding • not as important with increased use of artificial insemination • b. may spend entire life on concrete • 2. reproduction - external genitalia • 3. underline • a. > 7 pair of teats, evenly spaced & functional

37. E. Genetic change of economically important traits: • most change by selection pressure on highly heritable traits • the most economically important traits are reproductive traits & of low heritability • fortunately, least heritable traits respond to cross-breeding with a high degree of heterosis

38. Symbol III • Meat quality characteristics: • Muscle color score of 4.0 • 24-hour pH of 5.9 • Maximum drip loss of 2.5% • Intramuscular fat level of 3.0% • Free of within-muscle color variation and coarse muscle texture. • Free of ecchymosis (blood splash).

39. Definitions • pH - the lower the pH the greater the acidity. • A rapid drop in pH (early post mortem causes PSE • DFD pork has a high pH (low acidity) • L* or Minolta reflectance

40. Definitions • Quality refers to traits related to palatability (tenderness, juiciness, flavor, etc.) and consumer acceptance such as: • Color • Firmness and texture • Marbling • Safety • No Bruises

41. Definitions • PSE - Pale, soft and exudative (watery) • RSE - Red, soft and exudative • RFN - Red, firm and normal • DFD - Dark, firm and dry

42. Poor color and texture

43. Definitions • Halothane gene = muscle hypertrophy gene = stress gene • NN = Normal • Nn = Carrier • nn = Mutant stress susceptible pig

44. Halothane Gene • Mutants (nn) are unacceptable • Carriers have: • Less backfat? • Greater muscling • Poorer color • Less marbling • Tougher and drier

45. Definitions • Napole = Hampshire effect • Dominant gene • Low ultimate pH • Low processing yields

46. Problems with PSE • Low processing yields • Poor consumer acceptability

47. Factors causing PSE • Halothane gene • Stress • Slow chilling

48. How to reduce PSE • Select against halothane gene • Gentle handling and shipping • Resting pigs before slaughter • Proper handling, stunning and sticking • Rapid chilling • Crust freezing • Hot fat trimming

49. Inadequate marbling

50. Marbling • Low but generally positiverelationship with palatability • Highly heritable • Breed differences exist • Fairly low correlation with fat (.1-.3) • Can select for marbling and leanness