Reciprocal Meat Conference Abstracts

Color Stability of Longissimus Lumborum and Psoas Major Muscles from Grain-Finished Bos Indicus Cattle

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Abstract

ObjectivesFresh beef color is a muscle-specific trait, which is highly influenced by animal genetics and feeding management. Brazil is a major beef producer, and 80% of Brazilian cattle are Bos indicus animals. Finishing beef cattle on grains is increasing in Brazilian production systems. While the effects of muscle source on color stability of pasture-finished Bos indicus cattle have been examined, its influence on color stability of grain-finished Bos indicus animals has not been evaluated. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the color stability of longissimus lumborum (LL) and psoas major (PM) muscles from grain-finished Bos indicus cattle.Materials and MethodsThe LL and PM muscles were obtained 24 h postmortem from eight (n = 8) carcasses of purebred Nellore (Bos indicus) bulls that were grain-finished for 90 d prior to harvest. The muscles were fabricated into 1.5-cm steaks. The steaks were individually packaged in polystyrene trays, overwrapped using oxygen-permeable polyvinyl chloride film, and stored at 4°C for 9 d in the darkness. Lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*), color stability (R630/580), and metmyoglobin reducing activity (MRA) were evaluated on d 0, 5, and 9. The effects of muscle source and storage were analyzed using XLSTAT with the repeated measure option. The differences among the means were detected at 5% significance level.ResultsThe LL steaks demonstrated greater (P < 0.05) a*, R630/580, and MRA values than PM ones on d 5 and 9 of storage. The PM steaks exhibited a decrease (P < 0.05) in a*, R630/580, and MRA during storage, whereas a*, R630/580, and MRA remained stable (P > 0.05) in LL steaks. In addition, LL and PM exhibited similar (P > 0.05) L* and b* values throughout the storage.ConclusionMuscle source influenced the color stability of fresh beef from grain-finished Bos indicus cattle. Muscle-specific strategies may be utilized to improve the color stability of beef from grain-fed Bos indicus animals.

Keywords: muscle source, color stability, nellore cattle

How to Cite:

Salim, A. A., Suman, S. P., Canto, A. C., Costa-Lima, B. R., Viana, F. M., Monteiro, M. G., Silva, T. J. & Conte-Junior, C. A., (2018) “Color Stability of Longissimus Lumborum and Psoas Major Muscles from Grain-Finished Bos Indicus Cattle”, Meat and Muscle Biology 2(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.221751/rmc2018.072