Comparison of alternative beef production systems based on forage finishing or grain-forage diets with or without growth promotants: 2. Meat quality, fatty acid composition, and overall palatability

• Published in: Journal of animal science 2008-07, Vol.86 (7), p.1678-1689
• Main Authors: Faucitano, L, Chouinard, P.Y, Fortin, J, Mandell, I.B, Lafrenière, C, Girard, C.L, Berthiaume, R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Feed; Animal Husbandry - methods; animal production; Animal productions; Animals; Beef; beef cattle; beef quality; Biological and medical sciences; Cattle - growth & development; Cattle - metabolism; cattle feeding; Diet; Drug Combinations; Estradiol - administration & dosage; fatty acid composition; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids - analysis; Fatty Acids - metabolism; feed grains; feed supplements; Feeds; finishing; Food industries; forage; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; grass silage; growth promotion; Growth Substances - administration & dosage; Humans; Livestock; Male; Meat - standards; Meat and meat product industries; meat tenderness; medicated feeds; Muscle, Skeletal - chemistry; Muscle, Skeletal - growth & development; Muscle, Skeletal - metabolism; Organic Chemicals - administration & dosage; palatability; postmortem changes; proteolysis; Random Allocation; Shear Strength; soybean meal; Taste; Terrestrial animal productions; Trenbolone Acetate - administration & dosage; Trenbolone Acetate - analogs & derivatives; Vertebrates
• ISSN: 0021-8812; 1525-3163
• DOI: 10.2527/jas.2007-0756

Five beef cattle management regimens were evaluated for their effect on meat quality, fatty acid composition, and overall palatability of the longis-simus dorsi (LD) muscle in Angus cross steers. A 98-d growing phase was conducted using grass silage with or without supplementation of growth promotants (Revalor G and Rumensin) or soybean meal. Dietary treatments in the finishing phase were developed with or without supplementation of growth promotants based on exclusive feeding of forages with no grain supplementation, or the feeding of grain:forage (70:30) diets. Growth promotants increased (P < 0.01) shear force and tended (P = 0.06) to increase toughness of the LD muscle due to limited postmortem proteolytic activity (lower myofibrillar fragmentation index value; P = 0.02). Grain feeding increased DM and intramuscular fat content (P = 0.03 and P = 0.05, respectively) in the LD but decreased the sensory panel tenderness score (P = 0.01). Growth promotants increased (P