Effects of United States Department of Agriculture carcass maturity on sensory attributes of steaks produced by cattle representing two dental age classes 1

• Published in: Journal of animal science 2016-05, Vol.94 (5), p.2207
• Main Authors: Semler, M L, Woerner, D R, Belk, K E, Enns, K J, Tatum, J D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Beef; Maturity; Meat quality
• ISSN: 0021-8812; 1525-3163
• DOI: 10.2527/jas2016-0382

This study examined the effects of USDA carcass maturity on sensory properties of LM steaks produced by cattle representing 2 dental age classes. Carcasses identified for use in the experiment were produced by steers and heifers classified as either 0.05) in LM tenderness, juiciness, or flavor were detected between carcass maturity groups in either dental age class. Advanced dental age (≥30 MOA), however, was associated with more intense (P < 0.05) grassy and bloody/serumy flavors and decreased (P < 0.05) tenderness within the SL marbling group. Marbling score effectively stratified carcasses (MT-MD > SM > SL) according to differences (P < 0.0001) in LM tenderness, juiciness, beefy/brothy flavor, and buttery/beef fat flavor. In addition, increased marbling was associated with lesser (P < 0.01) intensities of bloody/ serumy, livery/organy, and grassy flavors as well as smaller (P < 0.0001) values for WBSF and SSF. Results of this study suggest that USDA carcass maturity does not effectively identify differences in LM sensory attributes in the population of beef carcasses routinely offered for grading in today's U.S. commercial beef processing facilities.